A Stitch In Time Saves Nine?
by qjz123
Summary: The future turned out pretty good for Naruto he became the Nanadaime Hokage, he brought Sasuke back from the proverbial dark side and he married non other than Hinata. Naruto had achieved his dream until it was suddenly ripped away and Naruto was inexplicably thrust back in time to the night that he first became a Shinobi. Now that he's back how will the future change?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first ****attempt at writing a story. This will be my take on a Naruto time travel story. A lot of time travel stories have Naruto choosing to go back in time because the future turns out horribly wrong. In this story the future actually turns out great for Naruto at this point Naruto has lived through the entirety of the cannon story line chapters 1-700. Then suddenly he is ripped away from that and thrown back in time to the night when he first became a genin. How will things turn out the second time around? Will the future turn out the same, better, or worse?**

****Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto****

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><p>A Stitch In Time Saves Nine?<p>

Chapter: 1

Naruto had done it, he'd finally accomplished his dream he was the Leaf's Nanadaime Hokage. He was acknowledged far and wide by Ninja and civilians alike for he was the man who had brought peace to the Ninja world. The child of prophecy as his sensei Jiraiya of the sannin called him.

He helped defeat Kaguya Ōtsutsuki _'the origin of all things chakra'_. He had successfully brought Sasuke back from the proverbial dark side and he even ended up getting married to none other than Hinata and having two children, a boy and a girl.

Life had turned out pretty good for Naruto that is until he was suddenly and inexplicably ripped away from it.

Naruto had finished his duties for the day he was locking up his office and was about to head home, he opened the door to leave when something hit him. Not in the physical sense though, he literally felt like his very essence had been shaken right down to his very core. Things turned dark… very, very dark and the next thing he knew he was laying on his right side on the ground.

He looked up uneasily and was taken aback by what he saw. It, it was… Iruka sensei he was hovering over Naruto but something was off, very, very off. Iruka looked young, much younger than he had when Nartuo had seen him just a few hours ago and not just that he also seemed larger for some reason.

Two drops of Iruka sensei's blood dropped down from his mouth onto Naruto's face. "Iruka… sensei?" Naruto said in a confused manner.

Tears started dripping down from Iruka's face as he began to speak "I know that, Naruto. I was so hard on you, yelling, scolding… it must have hurt… Forgive me. If I'd been a better teacher… A better self… Maybe neither of us would have come to this."

'What the hell is going on?!' Naruto thought to himself after witnessing the previous display from Iruka. This was the night that Mizuki had tricked him into steeling the "Fūin no Sho (The Scroll of Seals)" 'Is this a genjutsu? Impossible! There isn't anybody alive that could ensnare me inside of one.' But then what was going on.

Naruto moved out from under Iruka and backed up to create some distance between himself the wounded Iruka and Mizuki who was standing on top of a thick tree branch. Naruto instantly noticed how slow his retreat had been and how small his strides felt. He looked down at his arms and gaped at what he saw.

He was wearing the same orange jump suit that he wore when he was 12 years old. He looked at his arms and legs and realized that he was a kid again. Naruto tried contacting Kurama but it was to no avail. It wasn't as if he wasn't there anymore he just felt dormant. Him and Kurama were no longer in sync with each other.

His attention was suddenly brought back to the scene taking place in front of him regardless of how he got here he needed to deal with the situation at hand.

Iruka pulled the large shuriken from his back and slowly got up huffing and puffing. "You don't know Naruto at all" Iruka said his voice weak from the blood loss.

"I don't have to know the boy to kill him"! Mizuki yelled as he charged towards Naruto. Iruka jumped up and slashed at Mizuki with a Kunai. Mizuki easily dodged this and kicked Iruka back into a tree.

Iruka slumped down to the ground leaning against the tree. "Maybe I do hate the fox, but not Naruto. For him I have nothing but respect for he is an excellent student."

Mizuki took his giant shuriken and spun it around his hand prepared to launch it at Iruka and this was Naruto's cue to step in. He remembered what happened next.

Naruto swooped in and delivered a haymaker of a kick right into Mizuki's face even in his 12-year-old body it'd be a cold day in hell before somebody like Mizuki would pose a threat to the Nanadaime Hokage Uzumaki Naruto.

"Get out of here Naruto save yourself"! Iruka yelled.

"Loud mouth brat I'll kill you in one shot" Mizuki boasted. Naruto just looked at him with cold disinterested eyes before putting his hands together to initiate his favorite technique. "Taiju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple shadow clone jutsu)" Suddenly the clearing was filled with 1000 Naruto's.

Mizuki started sputtering nonsense not believing what he'd just seen happen before his very eyes. Iruka just looked on in awe. "Those aren't regular Bunshin, no they're all Kage Bunshin. Actual physical clones, every last one of them." Iruka said in amazement.

Naruto continued looking at Mizuki before wordlessly turning around and walking towards Iruka. His clones took that as their cue to unleash the beat down of a lifetime upon Mizuki.

All of the clones charged a Mizuki and pummeled him mercilessly. After a few seconds the fight was over and all of the clones dispelled. Naruto walked up to Iruka with a warm smile on his face and his right hand extended out towards him. "Are you alright Iruka sensei?" Naruto asked.

Iruka chucked "I'm the one who should be asking you that question. Whose the sensei here?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly something he had done quite often as a child. Iruka always managed to extract such a response from Naruto.

"Come here Naruto I've got a present for you." Iruka said after sighing a breath of relief. Naruto for all that he'd seen and experienced throughout his life was still very anxious. Iruka was about to give Naruto his own Hitai-ate. This not only signified the moment he first became a ninja but also the first time in his life where he was recognized by another. An event the forever bonded the two of them together.

Naruto had his eyes closed and was waiting per Iruka sensei's orders. "Can I open them now sensei?" Naruto asked

"Yes Naruto you may open your eyes now." He did just that and was presented with a smiling Iruka who was missing his Hitai-ate sitting before him.

"Congratulations Graduate." Iruka said while smiling. Naruto couldn't hold it in and surprisingly reacted the same way he had the first time. He lunged forward and wrapped Iruka in a tight hug surprising both Iruka sensei as well as himself.

XxX

(Hours later Naruto's apartment)

Naruto was now back in his old apartment that he lived in while he was a child. It was a surreal feeling being in this place again. It had been years since he had seen it. His apartment was destroyed along with most of the village when Nagato attacked.

He went out to celebrate with Iruka sensei, as promised Iruka bought Naruto multiple bowls of Ichiraku Ramen. Now that he was back home though he was trying to figure out just what was going on.

He contemplated whether or not he was under a powerful genjutsu like the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Those thoughts were quickly brushed aside because they didn't explain his body. Not just the fact that he was a kid again but the way his body felt. The amount of chakra he had the feeling of Kurama laying dormant inside of him.

These were things that no one but him knew and they could never be replicated, even by someone strong enough to ensnare him inside of a genjustsu. But if this wasn't genjutsu then there was only one other explanation. Somehow he'd been sent back in time to the night he first became a ninja.

'How could something like that be possible' he thought to himself while staring at the ceiling of his bedroom. He had been racking his brain for hours and it'd done him no good. 'That's enough for one night, tomorrow's the day I meet Kakashi sensei if memory serves me right.' With that Naruto turned to his side and proceeded to go to sleep.

XxX

(The next day Ninja academy)

Naruto was running late apparently traveling back in time takes a lot out of a guy go figure. He ran into the ninja academy and up to the door of his old classroom he then swung the door open. He was greeted with quite the sight, his friends from his past or what would now be considered the future. His teammates Sasuke and Sakura as well as his advisor and right hand man Shikamaru were present.

But that wasn't what really caused him to pause when he entered the room. What did was the sight of a little girl in the back of the room fidgeting nervously. It was none other than Hinata his future wife of over 15 years and mother of his two children. There she was in the back of the room too nervous to even look in his general direction.

It was no wonder that it would be another 7 years before anything happened between the two of them with Hinata encasing her self in such a thick shell of shyness. He was going to have to do something about that sooner rather than later.

Naruto was awoken from his thoughts by the clearing of Iruka's throat "Nice of you to join us Naruto, now please take a seat so we can get started."

Naruto did as asked and proceeded to take the seat nearest to him, as he walked up to it Kiba yelled out to him "What are you doing here Naruto? Today's class is for students who didn't fail."

Naruto looked at him in an amused fashion, it had been quite a while since someone had referred to him as a failure. "Well I guess I'm in the right place then" Naruto said as he flicked his Hitai-ate. With that he proceeded to sit down.

This surprised Iruka he had expected Naruto to lash out at Kiba for the shot he took at him. Instead Naruto seemed calm and content. The insecurity that Naruto would try to cover up with his brashness wasn't there today. 'Is this the result of him finally becoming a genin?'

"Today we will be breaking all of you up into three man cells which will be led by a single Jōnin ninja." Iruka said finally starting. Sasuke looked ahead bored and disinterestedly, Sakura on the other hand was practically swooning over the thought of being on the same team as her _"Sasuke-kun"_. Naruto was just waiting for Iruka to finish he already knew who would end up with whom.

Right on cue Iruka began, when it was finally team seven's turn he said "Next team 7 Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto," With that Sakura visibly slumped in despair "and Uchiha Sasuke" Iruka finshed. Causing Sakura to jump for joy. Sasuke didn't have a visible reaction to this neither did Naruto for that matter which was expected since he already knew which team he would end up on.

Naruto was sitting on the opposite side of the room instead of next to his teammates like he had been the first time. Probably due to him being late to arrive this time around. "You'll be introduced to your Jōnin instructor this afternoon until then you're dismissed." Everyone existed the room including Naruto.

XxX

Naruto made his way over to the bench where he knew Sakura would be sitting; Sasuke should arrive there eventually as well. Naruto arrived and saw Sakura sitting on the bench as he'd remembered only this time he was approaching her as himself instead of as a henge of Sasuke. As he approached he saw Sakura visibly scowl.

"Yo Sakura-chan" Naruto said lifting his hand up in greeting. Sakura looked away ignoring him. "Mind if I take a seat?" Naruto asked. "Yes I do!" Sakura exclaimed. Naruto was taken aback by the outburst. Had Sakura really disliked him that much at first? Naruto cocked his head to the side in a questioning manner and looked at Sakura.

Sakura decided to continue, "You probably don't realize this because you don't have any friends to tell you or any parents to scold you but you're annoying. If it were up to you I would never find any love or happiness so that I would end up just like you, alone."

Naruto was seriously taken aback, last time this had happened Sakura had said some pretty awful things but Naruto was pretending to be Sasuke so maybe he gave her a pass for it because he felt guilty for what he had done. But this time was different he hadn't done anything more than ask to sit next to her and she lashed out at him because of it.

As old as he was and as much as he'd seen, those words still cut deep. He turned around facing away from Sakura. "I see." Naruto said in a flat voice, he then proceeded to walk away from Sakura and back towards the village shopping district.

Sasuke appeared from the shadow of a tree a few seconds later and looked at Sakura with cold eyes causing Sakura's breath to hitch. "You disgust me" Sasuke said seemingly having overheard her lashing out at Naruto. Sasuke then turned and walked in the same direction that Naruto had.

Sakura then slumped down onto the bench "I disgust him, I wonder if Naruto feels the same way? Maybe from now on I could try being a little nicer."

XxX

It was now the afternoon and Naruto along with Sasuke and Sakura sat in the classroom waiting for their Jōnin sensei. Kakashi who Naruto knew was always extremely late to everything. The three of them sat there in silence until the door slid open.

The man who opened the door had on a black shirt and black pants and he had a green Jōnin flack jacket. He had a face mask the covered his mouth and nose and his Hitai-ate came down and covered his left eye. The man spoke looking at them in a bored fashion "Based on my first impressions I'd have to say… I hate you. Meet me on the roof in five."

XxX

"I'd like you all to tell us a little about yourselves" Kakashi said with a bored look on his face. "What do you like, What do you hate, What are your dreams and ambitions? Stuff like that."

"Why don't you help us out sensei by showing us how it's done." Naruto chimed in. "That's right sensei you're a complete stranger to us" Sakura added.

"Oh… me? My name is Hatake Kakashi I don't really like talking about my likes and dislikes, as far as my ambitions that's really non of your business, and as far as hobbies I have lots of hobbies." Naruto and Sakura sweat dropped, Sakura because she hadn't really learned anything about her sensei and Naruto because he remembered just how vague Kakashi had been.

"Now it's your turn starting with you on the right." Naruto looked up at Kakashi and started "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and what I like is cup Ramen, what I like even more is the Ichiraku Ramen that Iruka sensei treats me too. What I don't like is the 3 minutes that it takes to make the so called instant Ramen I mean how the hell is it instant if it takes 3 minutes to make.

Kakashi sweat dropped 'He appears to have nothing on his mind other than Ramen.'

"My dream" Naruto continued looking at Kakashi with a serious look that seemed to age Naruto before his very eyes. Those were not the eyes of an ordinary genin. "My dream to become the Hokage and to end the cycle of hatred that persists in the Shinobi world."

Kakashi's visible eye went wide at hearing this 'He wants to end the cycle of hatred? Your sons got quite the goal Minato sensei.' "Next" Kakashi said getting Sasuke to start. "There are plenty of things that I hate and I don't really like anything. I find it pointless to talk about dreams since that's only a word but I do have a goal and it is to restore my clan and to kill a certain man."

Hearing this cause Sakura to gasp in surprise Naruto on the other hand didn't react at all since he'd been expecting this. 'I expected as much' Kakashi thought in response to what Sasuke said. "And finally the young lady"

Sakura started "I am Haruno Sakura and my favorite thing isn't really a thing it's a person a boy actually and that boy is… Uh… let's move onto my dream." She looked over at Sasuke and blushed and covered her mouth with her hands to stop a loud squeal from being released.

She then removed her hands from her mouth and said, "I hate Naruto" Naruto couldn't help but snort in laughter at the abruptness of Saukura's statement if nothing else she was direct and to the point. "My hobbies are" she continued only to be cut off by Kakashi "Enough. I believe we understand one another well enough. Show up tomorrow at the teams designated training field at 6 and make sure not to eat anything before hand."

Kakashi then got off of the railing he was leaning on and said, "Tomorrow could mark the beginning of the rest of your lives. Don't be late." With that Kakashi Shunshined off of the roof leaving a pile of leaves dancing in the wind where he once stood.

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><p><strong>Done with the first chapter please review and tell me what you think. Nothing much has changed yet anyway. This chapter is basically Naruto reliving a lot of the same events with a different outlook because he's much more experienced and he's seen it all before. I have some ideas regarding where I'll take the story. Naruto will undoubtably be stronger the second time around because of everything he's learned and been through during his life. How many of his future techniques can Naruto use in his 12 year old body. How will he display the ones he can still use without raising too many questions? What will Naruto change now that he's reliving his life. Will anybody find out his secret? The pairing for this story will be NaruxHina obviously since she was his wife before he was sent back in time. How will they interact with each other. It must be weird and interesting seeing his wife of over a decade as a 12 year old genin who can't even look him in the eyes.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

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><p>Chapter: 2<p>

Naruto was once again laying on his old childhood bed staring at the roof deep in thought. His mind wondered to his children, his son Boruto and his daughter Himawari. He had seen them just yesterday and yet it felt like they were so far away. In this time they didn't exist a fact that was hard for Naruto to swallow.

Kakashi sensei, his right hand man Shikamaru, and his wife Hinata they all were here but even they felt unreachable. At least the versions that he knew, the versions that he cared for, the versions he loved.

He felt alone there was no one he could talk to no one he could confide in. That fact made him feels vulnerable. It had been a very long time since he'd been on his own isolated and left to his own devices.

Naruto then raised both hands and smacked them down on his face. He was being pathetic. Compared to what he'd been through the first time around this was nothing. 'Have I really become so soft?' He asked himself.

Feeling sorry for himself wouldn't help anything. He needed to make the best out of a crappy situation. Tomorrow would be the day that Kakashi would administer their first test as a team. A test that would determine whether or not they would be sent back to the Ninja academy.

He wondered how he should act around everyone. Should he play the loudmouth orange clad idiot that everyone believed him to be? Or should he show off at least a small portion of his true power.

Earlier that night Naruto had sent out a group of 25 clones to the forest of death to see which techniques he could or couldn't use. He didn't go himself for a couple of reasons. The first reason was because he didn't have to, the second reason was because he knew that Kakashi sensei would be observing them when they were first assigned to him. And he didn't need Kakashi seeing him do things that shouldn't be possible for a genin, at least not yet.

His clones had popped half an hour ago, relaying the results to the original. Naruto could still do his favorites the Rasangan and the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. As well as some of the more advance nature attacks that he'd grown accustomed too.

The problem with his new body was his lack of speed and strength. His 12 year old body couldn't handle the stresses of using Sage mode or Biju mode. The lack of speed he could make up for if he really needed to with the use of his fathers jutsu. "Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)"

Not that he planned on unveiling that little trick any time soon. His fathers Jutsu put the fear of god into anyone who saw him that's what earned him the classification "Run on Sight" in the bingo book.

Using that so soon would raise way to many questions. Questions that he wasn't prepared to answer. However Naruto had made some changes to his father's technique that made it fit his style of fighting better. He incorporated his Kage Bunshin into it making the already deadly technique that much more dangerous. He called it "Kage Hiraishin no Jutsu (Shadow Flying Thunder God Technique)" That was how Naruto was able to test it without access to any Hiraishin kunai. The "Kage Hiraishin no Jutsu" would be much harder to identify so it was something that Naruto could get away with if used sparingly.

'I really should get around to getting some Hiraishin Kunai' he thought to himself. They needed to be custom made so he'd need to find somebody willing to do it. Which wouldn't be easy in this time period with the way people viewed him. 'Ten Ten's shop would probably be able to make me some' he thought as his eyes began to flutter. Tomorrow was going to be a busy say.

XxX

It was 5:30 Kakashi had said to meet at the training field at 6 but of course Naruto knew Kakashi would show up 3 hours late. The reason he woke up was because he couldn't really sleep so he decided to get up and take a walk.

XxX

The sun was just starting to rise as Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha. His Konoha the one from his memories. He never thought he'd see this place again at least not the way it was now before it was destroyed by Nagato. Something which wouldn't happen this time around if he had anything to say about it. As Naruto was walking a familiar smell drifted through the air towards his nostrils.

This was a smell that he would never forget. Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto drifted subconsciously in the shops direction, it only took him a few seconds to arrive in front of the place. He walked in and found Teuchi and Ayame setting up. "Hey guys" Naruto said in a cheerful tone. They both turned to face their favorite blond customer.

"Hello Naruto what are you doing up so early in the morning" Teuchi said with a smile on his face.

"I have a test today with my genin team for the first time, so I thought I'd stop by for something to eat before hand." Naruto replied Teuchi nodded in understanding.

"Our little Naruto is growing up so fast, he's already becoming a big strong ninja." Ayame said getting Naruto to rub the back of his head sheepishly.

"So what'll it be today Naruto?" Teuchi asked.

Naruto thought for a moment before answering. While he knew why Kakashi told them not to eat his teammates didn't. With that in mind Naruto said "Let me get three bowls of Miso Ramen to go please."

"Sure thing" Teuchi replied.

Knowing how much Naruto tended to eat they probably assumed that all of the bowls were for him, not that he would blame them for assuming as such. Naruto could knock down a dozen bowls without even trying.

After a few minutes Teuchi handed over a bag containing three Ramen orders. "It's half price today Naruto to celebrate your first official day as a ninja."

"Thank you Teuchi-san." Naruto replied smiling brightly Teuchi and Ayame were great people and they'd continue to get Naruto's business for years to come.

After paying Naruto walked out of the shop and back onto the street ready to make his way to team 7's training field.

XxX

When Naruto arrived Sasuke and Sakura were already waiting by the three tree stumps that Naruto had gotten him self tied too the first time around.

"You're late Naruto!" Sakura yelled out.

"Kakashi sensei isn't here yet so what's the big deal?" Naruto replied flatly.

"What's in the bag?" Sasuke asked actually managing to surprise Naruto.

"I stopped by Ichiraku Ramen on the way here and picked up something for us to eat." Naruto replied while bending down and opening the bag.

"Kakashi sensei said that we weren't supposed to eat anything." Sakura chimed in.

"What Kakashi sensei doesn't know won't kill him." Naruto said before pausing "Wait that's not true not having enough information can definitely get you killed but you get my point." Naruto then reached into the bag and pulled out two sealed black plastic bowls of Miso Ramen and proceeded to hand them over to Sakura and Sasuke.

The two were hesitant "Come on you're going to need you're energy for whatever the hell Kakashi sensei will make us do."

Sasuke after a moment took the Ramen from Naruto with a nod seemingly accepting the logic behind Naruto's statement and Sakura followed suit shortly, after seeing Sasuke accept the food.

Naruto and Sasuke chowed down on their food Naruto more so than Sasuke. Sakura on the other hand was hesitant. "Sakura you really shouldn't be dieting when you're about to be put through the ringer by a Jōnin." Sakura apparently didn't appreciate Naruto commenting on the fact that she was dieting if the scowl on her face was any indication.

Oh how Naruto missed the prodigious medic nin and disciple of Tsunade it had taken a lot for Sakura to change the first time. Sasuke leaving the village and going rouge to be exact. Hopefully she could rise to the occasion again without the added motivation.

They finished the rest of their meal in relative silence and proceeded to do their own thing until Kakashi arrived.

XxX

(Two hours later)

It was 5 minutes till 9 when Kakashi finally showed up. "Good mourning class" Kakashi said lazily.

"You're late!" Sakura yelled, Naruto just chuckled he was feeling oddly nostalgic; Sasuke on the other hand continued brooding.

Kakashi walked up and placed a clock on one of the stomps "I've set this alarm to go off at noon." All three of the genin at least technically as far as Naruto was concerned stared attentively at their sensei. The fact that he was a genin again didn't bother Naruto. He had been a genin for his entire ninja career prior to becoming Hokage. If he'd learned one thing it was that rank didn't define a persons strength.

"I have two small bells your challenge is to steal these from me before the timer sounds. Anyone who fails doesn't get lunch and will instead be tied to a stump so that I can eat your lunch in front of you." Kakashi finished.

After hearing this it was clear to everyone why Kakashi had told them not to eat breakfast. All three of them would have been smirking if Naruto didn't already know what was going to happen, If Sakura wasn't so scared of the up coming test and if Sasuke was… well less Sasuke.

"You only need one bell a piece to pass and since there are only two of them one of you is definitely headed for the stump and whoever that is will be the first of you to fail. One of you is on your way back to the academy and disgrace. Come at me with the intent to kill or you'll never stand a chance." Kakashi said calmly.

"But, but that's so dangerous" Sakura sputtered. Naruto and Sasuke just looked towards Kakashi silently although the anxiety Sasuke was feeling was more than apparent. Naruto on the other hand was excited he was going to get to try out some of his moves in his 12 year old body and he was getting another shot at taking the bells from Kakashi. It was his chance to redeem himself after being tied to the tree stump the first time he took the test.

Kakashi stood in front of them impassively "Now ready, steady, go." He said beginning the test. Sasuke and Sakura hid themselves while Naruto stayed put about 15 feet away from Kakashi.

Naruto brought his hands together for his favorite jutsu "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (shadow clone jutsu)" 10 clones popped into existence along side Naruto. Kakashi looked at him lazily "Kage Bunshin huh? Are you planning on attacking me with that?" Kakashi asked as he pulled out a copy of his Icha Icha book.

Naruto didn't respond instead all 10 of his clones fanned out and hid themselves. Kakashi's one visible eye widened slightly not because he was particularly worried (because he wasn't) but because he was surprised that Naruto didn't come at him guns blazing. From all that he'd heard about the boy he expected him to rush in without thinking.

Naruto knew with the way his body was he couldn't just out muscle Kakashi for the bells, Kakashi was much faster and much stronger than he was. With that said the point of this test wasn't to see if they could kick Kakashi's ass because for all intents and purposes they shouldn't have been able too. No instead the reason for this test was to use teamwork to get the bells away from him.

Now was the time for Naruto to implement his version of his father jutsu. "Kage Hiraishin no Jutsu (Shadow Flying Thunder God Technique)" This technique was like a combination between his fathers technique and the substitution jutsu. His father could teleport instantly to any place that his Hiraishin kunai's were or to any place that he had marked.

The way Naruto's jutsu worked was pretty simple. Over the years Naruto had gained more control over his Kage Bunshin he was able to give them orders wordlessly and he could sense the location of his clones as well as their surrounds albeit vaguely in his 12 year old body. What the "Kage Hiraishin no Jutsu (Shadow Flying Thunder God Technique)" allowed him to do was instantly switch places with any of his clones. The beauty of this technique was that no one could tell that he did anything.

When he's teleported he's replaced by a clone of himself so it looks like nothing happened, even a user of the Sharingan or the Byakugan would be hard pressed to find out when and where he had teleported since the "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (shadow clone jutsu)" split the users chakra evenly among all of the clones thus making them impossible to tell apart.

Naruto sensed for the clone closest to Sakura, he found it and wordlessly initiated the jutsu without the need for any hand signs 'Kage Hiraishin' and in an instant he had swapped places with the clone that was hiding in a tree on top of Sakura's hiding spot. The person standing on the field 15 feet away from Kakashi was now nothing more than a Kage Bunshin. Naruto ordered it to fall back and hide without a world.

Naruto then jumped down and landed on the ground next to Sakura, he quickly put his hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming. He then motionioned for her to be quiet and removed his hand from her mouth when he was sure that she wouldn't scream.

"We need to find Sasuke." Naruto said in a hushed voice.

"Why?" Sakura replied.

"Because none of us can take Kakashi sensei on by ourselves we need to work together."

Sakura didn't look like she bought Naruto's reasoning but it didn't matter if it meant going to Sasuke she didn't need a reason.

"Ok head North East for about 200 feet that's where you'll find Sasuke." Naruto said

"What about you?"

"I'll catch up." Naruto replied before urging her on. He sent her on her own because he was planning on using 'Kage Hiraishin' to teleport and switch places with the Kage Bunshin closest to Sasuke.

Once Sakura was out of sight Naruto initiated the jutsu 'Kage Hiraishin' he was then teleported across the field to behind a tree where his clone had been hiding near Sasuke. Naruto walked out towards Sasuke to find him buried in the ground only his head remaining visible. Naruto was finding it extremely difficult to not to burst out in laughter.

"Uh Sasuke… need a hand?" Naruto questioned

"Shut it dead last I don't need you're help." Sasuke replied.

"Really…" Naruto said before picking up an earthworm that he saw laying on the ground and placing it right next to Sasuke face. "Still don't need my help?" Naruto asked once again.

"Get that thing away from me" Sasuke said as he struggled to get free. The worm proceeds to brush against his chin before curving upwards toward his mouth.

"Okay fine help me out of here!" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto gladly obliged to the humble request. He knocked the worm away and flashed through a couple of hand seals before pressing his hand against the ground and saying "Doton: Ryūsa (Earth Release: Quicksand)" The ground around Sasuke turned soft, Naruto then proceeded to pull Sasuke out of the hole.

Sakura arrived just as Naruto was pulling Sasuke out of the ground. "Sasuke-kun are you okay?" Sakura asked, Sasuke chose not to dignify the question with a response and simply ignored it.

"We have to work together if we want to get those bells from Kakashi sensei." Naruto said matter of factly.

"There are only two bells though if we get the bells then which one of us won't get one of them." Sakura replied.

"It doesn't matter we'll worry about that then what's the point of continuing by ourselves if no one gets a bell at least this'll give us a fighting chance." Naruto said.

He had decided before this test that he would try to get them all to work together to achieve the goal since teamwork was what Kakashi sensei was actually testing. Sasuke looked over at Naruto "What did you have in mind?" Sasuke asked getting Naruto to grin at his successful attempt at getting them to work together.

Naruto proceeded to tell his idea to both Sasuke and Sakura.

XxX

(10 minutes later)

Sakura ran through the bushes by her self, stopping when she saw Kakashi sensei. 'Safe he doesn't see me' she thought to herself before she heard Kakashi speak.

"Sakura behind you."

She turned around confused by what he was talking about until she saw Kakashi standing behind her looking at her with his one visible eye half open.

He formed a hand seal and leaves started floating around her when they stopped Kakashi sensei was nowhere to be found. She suddenly heard a voice calling out to her, it was Sasuke's voice! She turned around and yelled out "Sasuke-Kun" She was then greeted with the sight of Sasuke down on the grounds maimed with multiple weapons asking for her help. This was too much for her to take and she fell backwards and passed out.

"Was that too much?" Kakashi said to himself as he read his Icha Icha book. Naruto took Sakura falling victim to Kakashi's genjustsu as his time to step in. Naruto arrived on the scene and quickly put his hands together for his patented jutsu "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (shadow clone jutsu)" two Kage Bunshin popped into existence five feet in front of Naruto.

"Only two?" Kakashi said "What's wrong are you getting tired already? You haven't done much other than hide." Kakashi closed his Icha Icha book and looked at Naruto "Well are you going to attack me this time?" Naruto smirked then proceeded to initiate the "Kage Hiraishin no Jutsu (Shadow Flying Thunder God Technique)".

There was a clone hiding 50 feet away from where Kakashi and Naruto were. Naruto wordlessly started his jutsu 'Kage Hiraishin' and with that he instantly swapped places with his clone that was hidden away from the battlefield.

Now what stood in front of Kakashi were three Kage Bunshin the two that Naruto created five feet in front of himself and the one that he'd just switched places with which to Kakashi still looked like the original Naruto. He had no way of telling what had just happened.

Naruto ordered the two Kage Bunshin that were standing in front to attack Kakashi and they did just that. The Kage Bunshin on the left shot a powerful kick at Kakashi, which as expected was easily blocked. Kakashi then returned he own shot in retaliation in the form of a hard right punch to the stomach. The Kage Bunshin popped upon impact.

Kakashi was about to move onto the second Kage Bunshin when suddenly Sasuke yelled out "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)" A giant fireball shot out from the trees aimed right at Kakashi surprising him. Kakashi jumped out of the way to dodge the attack, which was when Naruto's Kage Bunshin lunged at Kakashi taking advantage of the distraction Sasuke had successfully caused.

The Kage Bunshin rapped its legs and arms around Kakashi's torso latching onto him tight. The Kage Bunshin then brandished a kunai in it's right hand and lunged it at Kakashi who easily stopped the attack by catching the Kage Bunshin's wrist. He them proceeded to disarm it and lunged the same kunai that had attacked him mere moment's ago back at the Kage Bunshin.

Upon seeing this the real Naruto who was situated 50 feet away from the battle smirked. "Got him" He said before initiating his jutsu one last time 'Kage Hiraishin' Naruto instantly switched places with the Kage Bunshin that Kakashi was about to stab.

Right before Kakashi stabbed him Naruto managed to hit Kakashi's arm slightly to the side thus avoiding a fatal strike. Kakashi's attack struck Naruto and the Kunai buried itself deep into his right shoulder all the way down to the handle.

Kakashi's one visible eye widened and he gasped as blood spewed from the wound. Kakashi's mind was racing He was certain that it was a Kage Bunshin that had latched onto him the original Naruto hadn't moved an inch since he created the two Kage Bunshin in front of him. There's no way that Naruto gotten him too loose track of the original. But then how else could he explain it? He had indeed without a shadow of a doubt stabbed the real Naruto.

Naruto took advantage of Kakashi's confusion and threw a punch with his right fist at Kakashi, biting back the pain caused by the kunai buried in his right shoulder. Kakashi was snapped out of his thoughts and went to block but it was just a feint. Naruto real goal was and always had been to get the bells.

Naruto quickly swung down his left hand and grabbed the bells. Kakashi realized what Naruto was doing and threw him off but it was too late.

'This test was over the second my Kage Bunshin latched onto you.' Naruto thought to himself. Not saying it out loud because that would reveal what Naruto had done.

Kakashi had thrown Naruto ten feet away from himself in an attempt to keep him from getting the bells.

Naruto shakily stood up blood pouring down from his right shoulder profusely. He then turned around to face Kakashi and raised his left arm revealing the two bells in his left hand. He looked at Kakashi grinning ear to ear.

Sasuke had witnessed what had just taken place and was just as awestruck as Kakashi. Sasuke watched Naruto engage Kakashi with what were obviously two Kage Bunshin yet somehow when Kakashi stabbed the one that latched onto him it wasn't a Kage Bunshin but the real Naruto. Somehow Naruto had not only tricked Sasuke into thinking that the one that latched onto Kakashi was a Kage Bunshin he had tricked Kakashi as well.

'Did someone like the dead last Naruto really outsmart both me and Kakashi?' Sasuke thought to him self.

Sakura had woken up after Sasuke had launched his massive fire jutsu at Kakashi. She saw Kakashi dodge it only to have Naruto latch onto him that was when she saw Naruto try to stab Kakashi only to have his own attack turned against him. Kakashi took the Kunai from Naruto and proceeded to stab him deep in his right shoulder.

Sakura gasped when she saw Kakashi stab Naruto. With the amount of blood that poured out she thought Kakashi might have killed him. That was until Naruto launched a punch with his injured right arm, only to have it blocked, then Kakashi threw Naruto aside.

She thought it was over and that they had all failed until Naruto stood up and revealed the two bells in his hand. "He actually did it" Sakura mumbled.

"How about that Kakashi sensei." Naruto said still smiling despite the blood pouring out of his deep wound. Kakashi was still stunned speechless. Naruto then grabbed the Kunai buried in his right shoulder and yanked it out causing more blood to spill out and a round of gasps from his teammates.

Naruto then took off his orange jacket revealing the black short sleeve shirt that he wore underneath. He ripped off one of the sleeves from the jacket and tied it over the wound to apply pressure to it. It would heal fast enough thanks to Kurama even though he was currently dormant inside of him.

Kakashi walked up to Naruto followed closely by his two teammates. "That was… quite something Naruto." Kakashi finally managed to squeeze out. "Are you okay?" he asked the blond who was covered in his own blood.

"I'll be fine, I heal quick." Naruto replied.

"So… you've got both bells who're you gonna give one to?" Sasuke or Sakura? Come to think of it you could even keep both of them if you wanted." Kakashi said flatly. Naruto looked down at the two bells sitting in his left hand and then at his two teammates.

He ripped the string holding the two bells in half and tossed one bell to Sasuke and the other bell to Sakura. Sasuke's eyes widened when Naruto tossed him a bell but he caught it with ease. Sakura on the other hand was shocked when he threw one to her and she juggled the bell around a bit before catching it.

"You're giving both away?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with his left hand. "We're a team and we all worked together to take the bells away from you. If you can't trust your comrades to have your back then who can you trust?"

Kakashi smiled "Well said Naruto." He looked over at his three genin and said "You pass."

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2 done thank you to everyone who read and reviewed, favorited and followed this story after chapter 1 you guys are Awesome! We get more action this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think I'm new to this so any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. See you again in chapter 3.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

><p>Chapter: 3<p>

Kakashi looked over at his three genin "You pass" he said giving everyone an eye smile.

"Eh! We pass?" Sakura said in disbelief. Kakashi put on serious expression "In the Shinobi world those who break the rules are scum, that's true, but those who abandon their friends and comrades are worse than scum." Kakashi finished getting Sakura to jump for joy and a smirk from Sasuke.

"Well that's it for today, Team 7's activities will commence tomorrow. Let's go home." Kakashi said gesturing his three genin to follow suit. All four walked in line with one another until they existed the training field at which point Kakashi left to go do Kakashi things. Leaving the three genin on their own.

Naruto was standing on Sasuke's right side with Sakura standing on his left. "Hey Sasuke you want to come by my place we could hang out or train or something." Naruto said after turning to face Sasuke. "You can come as well Sakura, if you want." Naruto added.

Sasuke just scoffed and proceeded to walk towards his home the Uchia compound. Seeing Sasuke walking away from them Sakura looked at Sasuke and then back at Naruto before looking back at Sasuke once again and following him.

Naruto let out of sigh "Well it was worth a shot I guess." He said to no one in particular. 'Well I guess now is as good a time as any to go shopping for some ninja tools.' With that thought Naruto formed a single Kage Bunshin. "Start walking towards Ten Ten's shop I'll be back… in a flash." Naruto said to the Kage Bunshin before instantly disappearing from sight.

XxX

(Naruto's Apartment)

Naruto instantly appeared in his bedroom. He had used "Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)" to teleport himself to himself there. He had marked the wall of his room to allow him to easily teleport to it whenever he wanted to.

There were a couple of things that he needed to do first before going to Ten Ten's shop. He needed to change his clothes. He was still covered in his own blood from when he was stabbed by Kakashi. In hindsight it was a little worrying that his teammates weren't more concerned about his well being. Not that he was in any real danger a injury of this magnitude was child's play to him.

Naruto opened his closet to reveal countless orange jump suits. Naruto fished through the closet and just grabbed a black short sleeve shirt, which he typically wore under his orange jacket. Naruto switched his torn and stained shirt for the new one he had taken out of the closet.

The injury that he had suffered to his right shoulder had already started healing. It looked like it was a week old going by a normal persons standards. After changing his shirt Naruto walked over to the table by his bed and opened the first drawer

Naruto fished through the drawer looking for the book the Hokage gave him when he was little. He found it easily enough it was near the top of the drawer since it was something he would look at quite often as a child. The book was titled "History of Konohagakure"

Inside it had historical information on the prominent clans as well as info on all four of the Konoha's Hokage. Naruto flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. A full-page picture of his father Namikaze Minato the Yondaime Hokage. Holding his patented weapon a Hiraishin Kunai in his right hand.

Naruto tore that part of the picture off so that he would have something to show the person that would be custom making his weapons. Naruto folded the picture and placed it in his pocket. He then initiated his jutsu 'Kage Hiraishin'.

XxX

(Ten Ten's Shop)

He instantly swapped places with the clone who had already made it within a few feet of Ten Ten's shop. Naruto walked inside and saw a familiar sight, Ten Ten looking bored standing behind the counter.

She looked up when she heard someone enter "Hello welcome to-" Ten Ten cut her self off when she saw Naruto and then continued "What's up kid you need something."

Naruto chuckled at that 'Kid? I'm 35 years old' He thought to himself as he walked up to her. "Yeah I needed to have some weapons custom made. Do you guys do that here?" Naruto already knew the answer but he asked anyway. "Yeah we do, what were you looking for exactly?" Ten Ten asked in reply prompting Naruto to fish the picture out of his pocket.

Naruto held up the picture for her to see. "I wanted a weapon like the one in this picture." Ten Ten looked the picture over with a look of contemplation on her face. She then turned around "Hey dad, can you come look at this?"

A burly looking man with a shaggy looking beard came out from the back after being called. "What is it?" He asked in a calm manner. "This kid was looking to have some weapons custom made for him, like this one." Ten Ten said before handing him the picture.

Ten Ten's father looked at the picture and his eyes went wide, he then looked down at Naruto. Naruto realized that he needed to do something before Ten Ten's father started asking too many questions. So Naruto decided to play dumb.

"Yeah, I saw that weapon in a book and thought it looked cool but none of the shops around here sell them. So I thought I'd have them custom made." Naruto said with his blues eyes sparkling. Hearing that Naruto wanted the weapons only because they looked 'cool' seemed to calm the man down and prevent him from asking any questions.

"This seems simple enough how many do you need." Ten Ten's dad asked getting Naruto to grin at his success. "About a dozen of them if possible" Naruto replied, he didn't have much money so a dozen would probably be all that he could afford but it'd be more than enough.

Ten Ten's dad rubbed his chin in thought "I can get that done in about a week" he finally replied. "A week huh? That's fine I have to do a bunch of D rank missions this week anyway." Naruto said getting a nod out of Ten Ten's dad.

"Your one of the new academy graduates right? Whose your Jōnin sensei?" Ten Ten asked looking at Naruto. "Yeah I just graduated a couple of days ago and my sensei is Kakashi Hatake." Naruto replied causing Ten Ten to turn pale.

"You mean the guy with the face mask that has only one visible eye." Ten Ten asked Naruto nodding in the affirmative as a response to her question. "He's all my sensei ever talks about, well that and youth." Ten Ten said getting Naruto to chuckle, He knew all too well what Guy sensei was like.

"I'm Ten Ten by the way what about you." "I'm Naruto… Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto replied getting Ten Ten to grin, "It's nice to meet you Naruto. Good luck tomorrow on your D rank missions your going to need it." Ten Ten said.

"Thanks" Naruto replied as he started making his way out of the store "I'll be back in a week to pick up my weapons." Naruto said before he existed the shop and headed back towards his apartment.

XxX

(Naruto's apartment)

Once again Naruto was laying on his bed looking up at the ceiling. "So I'm officially a ninja again huh." Naruto mumbled to himself. It had now been 3 day since he was sent back in time and for those three days Naruto had just been going through the motions.

Now that he was back in the past there were a couple of people he needed to talk too. The second person actually had him feeling anxious and excited, the first however not too much.

The second person that he wanted to talk to was none other than his wife Hinata. It was strange for Naruto he had seen Hinata almost everyday for the past 15 years and now she wasn't here, at least not the one he knew. His Hinata didn't exist in this time, or did she?

Naruto had never been the clingy or mushy type and he was never going to be. It wasn't as if he was laying there desperate to hold his wife again because lefts face it Naruto wasn't a bitch. That didn't mean he didn't miss her though and if he could find at least a sliver of his Hinata in the shy 12 year old girl that could hardly look at him than it would be worth it right?

The way things went the first time they were 19 before anything happened between them. Naruto wasn't naïve enough to believe that if he just sat on his ass that things would just somehow magically workout. Plus messing with an extremely shy version of his wife sounded very tempting and had Naruto grinning from ear to ear.

The thought of teasing her was very enticing. Naruto's mood was actually starting to improve. Apparently he now had something to look forward to.

But before any of that Naruto would have to talk to someone else first and he didn't think that person would be too happy to see him. Naruto closed his eyes and got in a meditative stance by sitting up and pressing his fist together similar to how he entered sage mode.

XxX

(Naruto Mindscape)

Naruto was now standing in what looked like a sewer. He hadn't seen this place look so shabby in years. About 10 feet in front of Naruto stood the giant metal bars that locked the Kyuubi away.

Naruto walked up to the bars and was greeted with a low rumbling growl causing him to take a step back. In the past Naruto beat the Kyuubi into submission with the help of his mom before they became partners in the fight against Obito. "Kurama I want to speak with you!" Naruto yelled out.

"**Kukuku… you wish to speak… with me**? What gives you the right!" He growled before plowing his claws through the gate trying to reach Naruto with them.

"How can you already be this pissed? I mean I barely said five words to you." Naruto replied trying to fight the grin off of his face. Kurama most certainly wouldn't appreciate being antagonized.

"**You do not seem scared to be here, and for that matter how are you here?**" Kurama Grumbled. "Well that's cause I'm not scared and this is my mind I can come here whenever I want to." Naruto Retorted.

"**So then… why is it that you wanted to come here and how do you know my name brat.**" Kurama replied noticeably more calm then before.

"I came because I wanted to talk about some things, and as far as your name let's just say that I know things, a lot of things." Naruto said cheekily.

"**Such as**?" Kurama said his patience obviously growing thin.

"I know why you attacked the village and I also know why you hate Uchia Madara so much." Naruto stated waiting for Kurama's reaction and he didn't disappoint.

"**Madara!**" Kurama Shouted slamming both of his hands into the cage.

"Calm down there big guy he's not around right now… at least I think he's not. Look that's beside the point if it makes you feel any better I can promise you that you'll get your revenge." Naruto said trying to get Kurama to clam down.

"**How can you be so sure that I'll get revenge against that man**?" Kurama asked. Naruto walked closer to Kurama and stopped short of his claws reach. Naruto looked at him right in the eye "Because I'll help you get it" and with that Naruto existed his mindscape leaving Kurama to mull over what he'd just been told.

XxX

(Naruto's Apartment)

Naruto laid back down on his bed satisfied with his first conversation with the past version of Kurama and drifted off to sleep.

XxX

(The next morning)

It was 5:55 am when Naruto opened his eyes. Genin teams typically met as soon as the sun rose, which was at 6. They'd have an hour to prepare alongside their teammates. Since the teams Jōnin sensei's typically wouldn't arrive until 7:00 am. Kakashi being the special exception since he would typically arrive 2-3 hours late.

Naruto was going to use that fact to his advantage today. Since Kakashi wouldn't arrive until 9:00 am Naruto was going to use the free time to go find Hinata. He had already talked to the Kyuubi now was the time to go say hi to his future wife.

Naruto got up and went to his closet to get dressed. In the future as Hokage Naruto wore an orange jacket and black pants. While Naruto had been feeling nostalgic for the past few days wearing his patented orange jumpsuit it was time for a change. Until he could go to a store and buy new clothes though, he would have to make due with what he had available. Which wasn't much.

Naruto fished through his closet and pulled out another black short sleeve shirt as well as a pair of black pants he'd have to go without the orange for at least a little while. Naruto finished getting dressed and headed out in search of team 8's training field.

XxX

(10 minutes later)

Naruto was walking past what he believed to be where Team 8 would typically meet. When he felt a figure appear behind him. He turned around to face her already aware or who it was.

Kurenai looked down at him "How can I help you Naruto you seem like you're looking for something."

'hmm… she already knows who I am? Well I guess my reputation proceeds me.' Naruto looked up at her "Not something, someone." Naruto stated

"Who?" Kurenai asked.

"I was looking for Hinata-chan." Naruto said while smiling "Do you know where she-" Naruto cut himself off when he sensed her presence past the tree's on the other side of the clearing. "Never mind I found her" Naruto said as he ran off towards her direction. Kurenai followed suit, which actually looked kinda weird.

Since Naruto ran off to where Hinata was Kurenai also had to run to keep up so it looked and felt like she was chasing him. 'Maybe I am being chased?' He thought to himself as he continued to run. Kurenai didn't seem that fast, though he doubted that this was her full speed, it wasn't his full speed either for that matter.

Naruto ran past the trees, when he arrived he found Hinata standing with her back turned towards him. "What's up Hinata-chan." Naruto said after coming to a stop Kurenai closely behind him. Hinata yelped and almost tripped over herself as she ran to hide behind a tree. Naruto could barely hold his laughter in at seeing and hearing her reaction to his sudden greeting.

'A camera I need a camera' he thought as he watched her reaction. Naruto rarely ever called things adorable if ever, frankly no man should ever use the world but… he just didn't know how else to describe her reaction too him other than to call it adorable. 'I guess hilarious would work too.' He thought before Hinata spoke up.

"N-Naruto-k-kun w-what are you doing here." She barely squeaked out.

"I came to say hi Hinata-chan" Naruto replied smiling brightly. Hearing the way he referred to her cause her already existing blush to redden even further.

Kurenai just looked between the two of them. When she first heard Naruto refer to Hinata as 'Hinata-chan' it caused her to raise an eyebrow and then when she heard Hinata refer to Naruto as 'Naruto kun' she was confused because the way she was acting didn't seem to signify that they were close and she never saw the two of them speak to one another.

What Kurenai did know however was that she didn't appreciate the fact that Naruto seemed to be enjoying himself at Hinata's expense. Naruto had quite the reputation and if she found out that he'd been bullying her it'd be the last thing he ever did. "Naruto did you come all this way to make fun of Hinata?" Kurenai asked in a displeased tone.

Naruto turned to her with a serious look on his face he was about to speak before Hinata chimed in "A-ano sensei Naruto-kun wouldn't make fun of anyone." This got a smirk out of Naruto, even now when she found it hard to just hold a conversation with him she still conjured up the courage to defend him by clearing up a misunderstanding in a possible hostile situation.

That wasn't something that everyone could appreciate but he sure as hell could. Naruto looked at Kurenai and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I just wanted to say hi." He said with a smile "Hinata-chan maybe we could go get some Ramen when you have some free time." Naruto said looking at her or at least what could be seen of her since she was hiding behind a tree with her head poking out.

"Eh!? I-I couldn't, I mean-" Hinata sputtered, she cut herself off when she saw Naruto frown.

"You should go Hinata" Kurenai chimed in. Kurenai was impressed by the fact that Hinata aggressively came to Naruto's defense at least by her standards.

"Eh?" Hinata said as she looked at her sensei in disbelief.

Naruto smiled "I have to go meet my team now but I'll talk to you again soon, and I'll hold you to that Ramen date." Naruto said before turning to leave.

"D-Date!" Hinata gasped at what Naruto had said but he was long gone by the time she squeaked that out.

XxX

(Team 7 training ground)

Naruto was the last to arrive at Team 7's training field again. Although Sakura and Sasuke didn't seem to mind. 'I guess they just got here as well.' Their greetings were a set of nods. Naruto was about to say something but was cut off when Kakashi arrived.

"You're late again Kakashi sensei" Sakura exclaimed. "What were you doing anyway?" She asked, Kakashi looked at his three genin with a lazy expression on his face or at least on the part that was visible. "I got lost on the road of life." He coolly replied.

Naruto nodded sagely in understanding. "So what're we going to be doing today Kakashi sensei?" Naruto asked getting both of his teammates to perk up and pay attention as they waited for the answer.

"Today we'll be taking and completing our first mission (or missions) if we have the time. But before that lets get a couple of warm up spars in." Kakashi Ordered. This actually surprised Naruto 'I don't remember this happening the first time around.'

Naruto was awoken from his thoughts by Kakashi calling out his name. "Naruto how about you and Sakura start us off." Naruto nodded in ascension and stepped forward as did Sakura albeit a bit nervously. The reason for that was because even the first time around when Naruto was popularly regarded as the dead last he was a formidable opponent in a spar, which would basically test their Taijutsu against one another.

Now the reason for that wasn't because Naruto had good Taijutsu technique because he didn't. It was because Naruto was a brawler no one could take a hit like him and have the stamina to keep going. It wasn't pretty but it didn't have to be, it worked so that was all that mattered.

Naruto no longer fought that way once he grew up though. He fought using Frog Kata since he learned it from the frogs at Mount Myōboku. While it wouldn't be nearly as effective without the use of sage mode it'd be more than enough to easily beat a genin.

Naruto and Sakura stood in front of one another "Begin" Kakashi said marking the start of their spar. Sakura got into a cookie cutter academy Taijutsu stance, Naruto on the other hand just stood there nonchalantly which confused Sakura. "Are you going to attack?" Sakura asked clearly anxious.

Naruto just smirked. "Come" he said as he raised his hand towards her and urged her to bring the fight to him by waving his hand towards himself. She took this as him insulting her and charged towards him firing off a kick aimed at his torso. Naruto easily blocked it with one hand

"Your movements are to big and out of control, you end up leaving multiple openings for a counter attack." Naruto said to her in a sagely manner.

Sakura jumped back and brandished a kunai in her right hand and held it in front of her at the ready. Naruto still stood there nonchalantly with his arms at his sides watching her. She charged in once again and slashed at him with the kunai, Naruto caught the hand that was holding the kunai and pulled her towards him.

He used his right hand to hit Sakura in the wrist dislodging the kunai from her hand and in one fluid motion he caught the dislodged kunai with his right hand, he then spun around and held the kunai against her throat causing her eyes to widen.

"You attack without thinking about the consequences that's a sure fire way to get yourself killed. You're smart use that to your advantage think ahead and be prepared for what your opponent has in store, especially if they're stronger than you." Naruto said evenly.

"That's enough Naruto" Kakashi chimed in getting Naruto to remove the kunai from Sakura's throat. He then flipped it around and held it out for her to take from him which she did albeit hesitantly.

Kakashi was confused so far nothing he had seen from Naruto matched up with what was said about him. He had been told that Naruto was a brash loudmouth who talked a big game but could rarely back it up. He had extraordinary stamina which was to be expected given his '_condition_' but not much else about him was remarkable. At least that's what he was led to believe.

The way Naruto fought Sakura would be unheard of for a genin, not because he beat her quickly, because there were a couple of genin who could've done the same, it was instead the way he fought her. He exuded confidence and he backed it up with such poise and control. At a level that most chunin couldn't even hope to match. Then there was the way he carried himself throughout the fight. It was eerily reminiscent of his own sensei Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage and Naruto's father. It was those little glimpses of brilliance that sent a shiver down Kakashi's spine.

"What now sensei?" Naruto asked waking Kakashi from his thoughts.

"Right Sasuke it's your turn." Kakashi stated getting a scoff out of Sasuke. "You ready to loose dobe?" Sasuke asked in an arrogant fashion. "Bring it on Sasuke." Naruto replied, as tempted as he was he refused to stoop down to Sasuke's level of name-calling.

"Begin" Kakashi said signaling the start of the fight. Sasuke took a basic Uchia Taijutsu stance while Naruto got himself ready in a Frog Kata stance. Sasuke started by rushing at Naruto firing off a hard right punch towards the future Nanadaime Hokage. Naruto parried the blow with his left arm and spun inside of Sasuke's defense and in one smooth motion Naruto shot a back elbow towards Sasuke's torso.

Sasuke noticed this and jumped back narrowly avoiding Naruto's blow. This got Naruto to smile 'That was actually well done' Naruto thought to himself before rushing at Sasuke. Sasuke fired off a sweeping leg kick at Naruto, which he easily jumped over to avoid. Sasuke then threw another right punch at Naruto. Instead of parrying it this time Naruto caught the punch with his left hand. He then proceeded to throw a right elbow at Sasuke's face, Sasuke attempted to block it with his left arm but the elbow was just a feint.

Naruto extended his index and middle fingers on his left hand that was holding Sasuke's fist he then brought over the other hand that he pretended to elbow Sasuke in the face with, the same two fingers were extended on his right hand as well. He joined his fingers together to initiate his patented jutsu "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (shadow clone jutsu)" Naruto said as 4 Kage Bunshin popped into existence.

Sasuke's eyes widened at what had just taken place, he attempted to escape but to no avail he was still being held tight, now with both of Naruto's hands. The four Kage Bunshin all dove to the floor and kicked Sasuke up into the air prompting Naruto to release him from his grasp. The original Naruto then jumped up into the air following Sasuke, he then delivered a powerful drop kick to the back of Sasuke's head sending him crashing down towards the ground. "Uzumaki Naruto Rendan"

Before Sasuke could hit the ground Naruto's Kage Bunshin caught him and placed him down on the ground. This was just a spar not a battle after all. This prompted Kakashi to end the spar. "All right that's enough." Kakashi said getting a reaction of outrage out of Sauke. "I can keep going!" Sasuke exclaimed practically seething. "That's enough for now Sasuke this was just supposed to be a warm up we still have a mission to do today." Kakashi stated flatly.

'Where did he learn to fight like that?' Kakashi thought to himself. Naruto had no wasted movements when he fought. Everything was deliberate and everything was thought out.

"That's enough with the warm up let's go we need to go pick up our first mission." Kakashi ordered motioning them to follow suit. Which all three of them did. Naruto walked in line with Kakashi while Sakura and Sasuke following closely behind.

Sasuke was still seething after his spar with Naruto. Sakura on the other hand was deep in thought. 'What was that just now? Naruto was always a looser back in the academy.' Sakura thought while walking alongside Sasuke. Beating her was one thing but how the hell did he do that to Sasuke.

'Naruto was never able to beat Sasuke-kun when we were in the academy. He would always talk a big game that he was never able to back up. But this time, this time was different' Sakura thought to herself as they all continued walking towards the Hokage tower to accept their first mission as a team.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3 done! Once again thank you to everyone who reviewedfavorited/read and followed my story. You guys are Awesome. Please leave a review telling me what you thought any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. It really encourages me to keep on going.**

**We finally see some Hinata-chan this chapter as well as Kurama. Naruto apparently fights like a controlled badass and he uses S rank ninjutsu to make his life more convenient. Next chapter we should be starting the Zabuza stuff. I have some ideas regarding that but I haven't started writing it yet. Well until Chapter 4 see Ya!**

**Edit: Pacing is a really great way to think at least for me anyway. I thought of some exciting ideas(in my opinion). Bigger picture stuff I.E. Akatsuki, Jinchūriki all that Jazz as well as what changes Naruto will make going forward. I having some exciting potentially hilarious and maybe even badass plans for Gaara. We'll see how Naruto handles him among other things. So far the ****story has focused on how a 35 year old Naruto in his 12 year old body would affect his team dynamic. I hope to broaden that significantly. A lot of this stuff will probably start post Zabuza mission since I think his team needs at least 1 serious mission under their belts before I move onto bigger and hopefully better things. I also have plans for Hinata during the chunin exams which I actually had in mind before I started writing this story so I'll also have to see how I work her in. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Bold text in the chapter is Kurama's dialogue.

* * *

><p>Chapter: 4<p>

Naruto was once again laying on his bed alone in his apartment. He was exhausted more mentally than physically really since the latter rarely ever happened to him.

"Today was a long day." Naruto mumbled to himself. Naruto had woken up early to go see Hinata he then spared with both Sakura and Sasuke per Kakashi's orders. He then had to complete multiple D rank missions alongside the rest of his team. They were more mind-numbingly awful than he had remembered.

If his memory served him right it would be another week before Tazuna would put in his request for his supposed C rank mission. Naruto would need to make sure that Team 7 was assigned to that mission. He shuddered to think what might have happened if a group of Chunin were assigned the mission in their stead. Without the presence of someone like Kakashi, Zabuza would tear them limb from limb.

Since he had another week before he had to leave he decided to spend it training. 'No way in hell am I ever doing a D rank mission again.' Naruto thought to himself. Naruto was feeling nostalgic and decided to play rookie genin and complete the D ranks for old times sake but that grew old fast, real fast.

Naruto decided to send a Kage Bunshin to complete his duties for the rest of the week. He could always switch out with the clone using 'Kage Hiraishin' if it ever got in danger of being exposed.

While the Kage Bunshin did that he would train his body in the forest of death.

XxX

(The next morning)

Naruto created a Kage Bunshin and sent it off to go meet his team while he made his way over to the Forest of death.

XxX

(20 minutes later)

Naruto had made it into the forest of death and he was trying to travel into it as deep as possible to avoid detection. Which may not have been possible but it was worth a try.

The reason that he needed to come out here was to train his body to get used too Kurama's Chakra. Things like speed and strength could be build up over time even through experience alone. The type he would get on missions and the fights they presumably would have on them.

The same could not be said for Kurama's chakra, things like building up his chakra network to handle the increased strain would take years naturally. As it had the first time around. Instead Naruto was trying more of a brute force method.

He was sitting on top of a tick tree branch in a meditative position deep in the forest of death.

"Kurama hit me." Naruto requested in response a red aura spilled from Naruto's body engulfing him. It lasted 15 seconds and then it was gone.

Naruto was having Kurama overload him with Chakra whenever he gave him the ready. The amount of Chakra Kurama could release was limited due to the seal but it was still more than his 12 year old self could handle.

What Naruto was doing essentially was taking the Chakra that Kurama was giving him and circulating it through his Chakra network. The point of this was to expand his Chakra coils. His were already wider than most given that his own Chakra that he had access too was already huge.

Forcing more Chakra than he could handle through his Chakra network was extremely painful. He was forcing more Chakra through his Chakra coils than they could take, the result was that they were expanding slowly.

Naruto didn't know why exactly Kurama was helping him with this. He noticed that Kurama had visibly calmed after Naruto told him that he'd help him get revenge against Madara. Naruto didn't know whether Kurama was helping him out so he could get closer to his revenge against Madara or if it was because doing this caused Naruto excruciating pain.

'Maybe both' Naruto thought to himself. "This would allow him to kill two birds with one stone.'

"Again!" Naruto said this time the red aura lasted for 30 seconds before disappearing. Naruto was visibly suffering the affects of this training method. He grunted in pain in between his gasps for breath.

"This isn't good enough!" Naruto said to Kurama and himself. With the seal the way it was now Naruto would only be able to access 3 tails worth of Kurama's Chakra. The way he was now he couldn't even handle less than a single tail! "We need to keep going." Naruto said to Kurama readying him self.

"Again!" Naruto said once again summoning the red aura this time lasting for 45 seconds. Naruto was attempting to increase the duration of his Chakra circulation by adding 15 seconds each attempt. He was going to keep going for as long as he could.

"Again!"

XxX

"Again!"

XxX

"Again!"

XxX

"Again!"

XxX

"Again!"

XxX

"Again!"

XxX

"Again!"

XxX

"Again!"

XxX

"Again!"

XxX

"Again!"

XxX

(Hours later Naruto's apartment)

"Kurama I think I'm dying, can you hurry it up with the whole healing thing." Naruto said to his fuzzy companion.

"**Such insolence you dare to order me. I should leave you there to wither away.**"

"You couldn't do that even if you wanted too." the disheveled blond replied cheekily. It was true though even if Kurama stopped sending his chakra to Naruto the chakra that he leaked unconsciously would be more than enough to begin the healing process albeit at a much slower rate.

Being a tailed beast Kurama didn't have any semblance of chakra control not that he needed it. I mean when would he ever need to be precise. 'Why pick a lock when you could blow down the door, or the whole house in Kurama's case.' Naruto thought to himself.

"Hey Kurama." Naruto said calling out to his fury weapon of mass destruction.

"Kurama…" He said again after not getting any response.

"Kurama…, Kurama, Kurama, Kurama, Kurama, Kurama, Kurama, Kurama, Kurama, Kurama!"

"**What!**" He shouted to stop Naruto's tirade.

"…I love you." Naruto replied matter of factly.

"…**.**"

"Do you miss him?" Naruto asked.

"**Who?**"

"The sage."

"**You talk to much boy.**"

"Heh, maybe."

"…**..**"

"I have someone… more than one actually. People that I miss I mean."

Naruto's thoughts drifted to his family, that was torn away from him. It had been 5 days since he'd been sent back in time and so far he hadn't done much. He was going to need to change that.

'Starting tomorrow I'm gonna starting making some headway with my teammates. I'll start with Sakura. It shouldn't be to difficult… I hope.' Naruto thought to himself as he laid back on his bed. 'Maybe I'll take Hinata out for Ramen tomorrow like I said I would. That should be fun.' Naruto thought while smirking.

XxX

(The next day 4:00 pm)

It was the afternoon and Naruto's clone had dispelled itself to let Naruto know that Team 7's activities were done for the day. That prompted Naruto to end his training with Kurama's chakra. Naruto had taken it easier on the second day mostly just practicing holding the chakra for as long as he did yesterday which was 10 minutes once he was done.

Doing it the second time was much easier which let him know that his Chakra coils were successfully starting to widen. He hopped down from the tree and walked off in search of Sakura.

XxX

(East side of Konoha shopping district)

It didn't take long for Naruto to find her since he had a general idea of where she would be. "Hey Sakura." Naruto said as he approached her, startling Sakura.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" She questioned.

"I was looking for you."

"Me?" She replied with a confused and somewhat suspicious expression.

"Yeah you, there was something that I wanted to show you."

"What." Sakura said slightly apprehensive about the situation.

"It'll only take a little while I promise just follow me for a second."

Sakura looked hesitant but decided to humor him and follow along. Actually surprising Naruto at how easy that was.

Both Naruto and Sakura walked side by side for about 10 minutes before Sakura spoke up "How far are we going Naruto?"

"Where almost there." Naruto said as they reached Team 7's training field.

"What are we doing here?" Sakura asked confused by why Naruto had taken her all the way here.

Naruto smirked and walked towards a tree he paused and looked back at Sakura before effortlessly walking right up it causing Sakura to gasp.

"H-How did you just do that. You just defied gravity."

Naruto chuckled "No, Its nothing that complicated this is just one big glorified Chakra control exercise. Something you should be good at."

"Me?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

Naruto hopped down from the tree and waved her over to him. "The point of this exercise is to focus Chakra to the souls of your feet which are the hardest part of your body to manipulate chakra too. This is a combination of mental and physical energy. You have to be able to focus and find the right balance." Naruto stated.

"Although actually trying it should help you understand it better than my explanation. Like I said this should be easy for you so give it a try Sakura."

She looked apprehensive before running towards the tree She shuddered at first trying to find the right balance but managed to after a few steps up the tree. "Wow I'm doing it!" Sakura exclaimed

Naruto grinned, "I told you that you have a talent for it. You have great Chakra control something that could really come in handy if you ever decided to pursue genjutsu or Medical ninjutsu." Naruto finished before Sakura hopped down from the tree noticeably winded. 'Well she still needs to work on her stamina.' Naruto thought to himself.

"How did you learn to do this Naruto?" Sakura asked. The blond just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "I saw some Chunins doing it and decided to ask Iruka sensei for some pointers. After that I just practiced, it took me a couple of days to get it."

"A couple of days!" Sakura yelled out in surprise confused how something that she got on her first attempt could take someone so long to do.

"You should go teach it to Sasuke." Naruto said getting Sakura to perk up at the mention of his name. "Although it might take him a day or two, so don't be surprised if he doesn't get it right away."

"Why would it take Sasuke that long?" Sakura asked.

"Simply put he has more Chakra than you so it'll take him longer to control it." Sakura seemed to accept the reasoning easily enough. "One more thing" Naruto added "Don't tell him that I'm the one that taught you."

"Why not?" Sakura asked

"Just don't" Naruto knew what would happen if Sasuke found out that Naruto was the first of them to know this technique. Naruto's own growth would make Sasuke feel like he was standing still as far as his own growth was concerned, something that Naruto wanted to avoid lest they come to blows again like that time on the hospital roof.

Sasuke needed somebody, anybody and if that person could be Sakura then Naruto could kill two birds with one stone by helping them both. Sakura being someone Sasuke could rely on and Sasuke being someone who could motivate her to better herself.

"You should get going" Naruto chimed in "You should be able to find Sasuke training at the Uchia compound if you leave now."

"Ok!" Sakura said excitedly as she turned to leave before stopping and looking back "Naruto."

"Hmm" Naruto replied after looking back in her direction.

"Thanks." She said with a smile before turning back and running off towards the Uchia compound.

"Don't mention it." Naruto said to him self while grinning and walking away.

XxX

(Near Team 8 train grounds)

After leaving Sakura Naruto went in search of his future wife. He arrived at Team 8's training grounds and Saw the three members of Team 8 standing at the edge of the field. Naruto walked up to them and before he could say anything Kiba yelled out "What're you doing here Naruto?"

Causing Hinata to jump as Naruto sidled up next to her. Naruto put his arm around Hinata's shoulder and pulled her close to him causing her face to turn redder than a tomato "I'm here to pick up Hinata-chan for our date."

His statement got Kiba to gape in response. Naruto was certain that this was the last thing Kiba expected to hear even the emotionless Shino was visibly shaken. Before anybody could object Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her away running to Ichiraku Ramen's shop while dragging Hinata by her hand. Hinata's legs seemed to have gone limp when Naruto grabbed her hand but he was pulling her with enough strength to keep her upright.

XxX

(With Team 8)

Kiba and Shino were standing there speechless when Kurenai arrived. "Where's Hinata?" She asked confused by the look on her genin's faces. They both just wordlessly pointed towards the direction that Naruto had ran off in dragging Hinata along.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow as she could still vaguely see the two of them in the distance. She then giggled and placed her hands on the two boys shoulders waking them from their reprieve and ushering them off the field.

XxX

(With Naruto and Hinata)

Naruto had led Hinata all the way to his favorite restaurant. He was still holding Hinata's hand as they stood outside of the shop. Hinata was trying her best to hide, which was pretty difficult since he was holding onto her to keep her from running away.

She had her head turned away and facing the ground. Naruto walked around to where her face was facing and bent down to be at eye level with her not because he was way taller than her because he wasn't but because she was looking at the ground.

"Hinata-chan we're here how about we go inside and get something to eat." Naruto asked in a calm voice. Hinata nodded slightly and that was all he needed to head inside Hinata in toe.

Once inside they sat down on two of the center stools at the counter. Teuchi recognized his favorite customer and greeted him accordingly "Hello Naruto what can I get for you today?" He then turned to Hinata "Whose your friend"

"This is my Friend Hinata" Naruto answered getting Ayame (Teuchi's daughter) to perk up. "Are you two on a date?" She asked with a sly smile which caused Hinata to bury her face slightly in her jacket. Naruto just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly while grinning.

"What can I get for you two?" Teuchi asked.

"I'll have an order of Miso pork Ramen with extra pork" Naruto gestured towards Hinata "she'll have the same but without the pork and with two packets of soy sauce and light on the salt." This actually caused Hinata's to look up and Naruto realized what he had just done.

He gave Teuchi her exact order even down to the amount of soy sauce she likes without ever asking her. 'Old habits die hard I guess.' After they got married they would come here all the time ordering for her just became commonplace.

Naruto looked over at her sheepishly "Kurenai sensei told me what you like?" Naruto stated/questioned. She seemed to accept his reasoning though even if she didn't he doubted that she would say as much.

"A-Ano Naruto-kun when you said this was a d-date." Hinata squeaked out while pressing her two index fingers together. Naruto looked on with a smile.

"Don't worry about it too much Hinata-chan. You don't have to be so nervous, we're just eating some Ramen." Naruto said as Ayame placed the bowls in front of them. Naruto broke apart his chopsticks and dug in though at a slower pace then usual.

Naruto looked over at Hinata who had tentatively started eating hers as well "Hinata-chan can I ask you something." The blond said looking at his future wife. A small nod from her was his answer.

"What's you dream?" He asked with a serious expression. The question caught Hinata off guard, she turned her head to look at him and quickly shot it back when she saw how intently he was looking at her.

Hinata mustered up the courage to tell him after all he was the person she admired and strived to be like. He was steadfast and strong and wouldn't let anyone tell him what he could or could not do. They even had the same nindo.

"I want to be strong, I want to prove my self to my father and my family." She looked over at Naruto slightly "I also want to-" She cut her self off and her blush reddened.

Naruto grinned and rubbed the area between his nose and lip with his index finger. He could more or less guess what the last part was.

"What if I told you that I could help you become strong?" Naruto asked Hinata.

"Eh!?" She yelped

"You heard me. I can help you get stronger if you're willing to put in the work."

Hinata nodded surprisingly eagerly. "Alright let's finish eating and we can start." Naruto stated.

"We're starting tonight?" Hinata asked in a soft voice.

"Yup I work fast." Naruto replied with a smile before he moved back to finishing his food. "I need to stop by my apartment first though to pick up some supplies."

XxX

(Random training field)

Naruto stopped by his house to pick up some supplies for their training before heading to an unused training field so they wouldn't be disturbed.

"N-Naruto-kun what are you going to do with that stuff you brought from your home." Hinata asked

"We'll get to that, first though I'm going to show you the finished product." The blond said before walking up to a tree.

"Hinata I want you to activate your Byakugan and look at what I'm about to show you." Naruto said commandingly. Hinata did as Naruto asked and activated her clans dōjutsu "Byakugan" With that the veins around her eyes popped out.

"Good now watch close." Naruto stated one last time before a blue sphere of swirling Chakra formed in his right hand. He then took his right hand and thrust it at a tree "Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere)" The blue sphere drilled a perfect controlled hole into the tree before he pulled back and deactivated the ninjutsu.

Hinata's Byakugan clad eyes widened in awe. 'This level of Chakra rotation and compression. Naruto-kun how-' She was awoken from her thoughts by Naruto "Hey no need to get all awestruck on me you're going to be learning to master this jutsu as well." Naruto stated matter of factly.

"You're going to be teaching me that jutsu?" Hinata asked.

"Yup, and its not just any jutsu it's a super awesome A rank ninjutsu, second highest from the top."

"I don't think-" Hinata started before Naruto cut her off.

"Don't worry I didn't either when I was taught this jutsu, frankly I never used to think but I still mastered it" Naruto said with a grin. He then took out two water balloons and tossed one to Hinata and placed the other in his right hand.

"Ok this is the first step in mastering this jutsu, it should be pretty easy for you considering you use the Hyūga Jūken fighting style. The point of this exercise is to create a stream of Chakra to pop the balloon." Naruto then extended his right hand towards Hinata who still had her Byakugan activated.

"It'd probably just be easier for you to see for your self." Naruto said before proceeding to demonstrate the first step. Multiple lumps formed as the water was being swirled around before it finally burst.

"Now do what I just did." Naruto looked over at Hinata who proceeded to attempt the same thing on her own water balloon. She extended her right hand and started building up Chakra causing the water to swirl and after a few seconds she successfully burst the water balloon getting Naruto to smile.

"I figured that would be the easy part for you." He then tossed her a rubber ball "Now do the same thing you did to the water balloon to this. Hinata attempted to burst the rubber ball but to no avail nothing happened at all.

"I thought that would happen, the rubber ball is about 100 times more stiff than the water balloon. The first step was about creating a stream of Chakra the second step is about power." Naruto said before demonstrating him self and again after a few seconds the rubber ball burst just like the water balloon did.

"Naruto-kun I don't know if-" She started before Naruto cut her off once again.

"Hinata what's you're nindo." Naruto asked with a serious expression getting Hinata to pause for a few seconds before answering "I'm not going to run away and I never go back on my word that's my Nindo, my Ninja Way"

"Very good" Naruto said with a smile. "When we were at Ichiraku Ramen's you told me that you wanted to become strong. Was what you told me true?" He asked in a serious manner.

"Y-Yes it was." She replied hurriedly.

"Then prove it." Naruto said flatly as he started to turn around and walk away from the field. "I'm leaving the supplies with you, once you finish the second step let me know." Naruto left without looking back. 'Hinata no one can baby you through this if you want to succeed you have to fight for it.' Naruto thought to himself as he left the clearing.

XxX

(5 days later)

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Naruto continued his own training with Kurama's Chakra where he'd made decent strides, he could now maintain his Chakra for 11 and a half minutes.

Tomorrow would be the day that they set off on their C rank mission to the land of Waves. Not that anyone else knew that.

It would be Naruto's job to play the part of the ungrateful loudmouth to get the Hokage to give them a C rank mission. Speaking of the old man Naruto hadn't been to see him yet. It wasn't like he was adverse to it more like he was subconsciously avoiding seeing what would be a ghost from his past.

He'd need to get over that eventually though.

"Kurama" Naruto said to his 9-tailed companion.

"I know your there…"

"Kurama, Kurama, Kurama, Ku-"

"**What!**"

"Goodnight"

"**...**"

With that Naruto drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4 done! Thank you once again to everyone that reviewedread and favorited/followed my story it means a lot. **

**Not much action this chapter mostly character interactions and some Hinata set up for the Chunin exams. It'll still be Naruto's show but I'll try to give Hinata her moment. Next chapter will start off with them leaving on their first c rank mission. So definitely expect a lot more action. I might start and finish the Zabuza arc in 1 chapter by just making it longer than the others. I also have some twists planned for it. Naruto attempts his first major change and lets just say things don't go as he expected them too. It'll be darker than anything I've written so far so look forward to it. Maybe. Please. Until Chapter 5 see ya!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Bold text in the chapter is Kurama's dialogue.

* * *

><p>Chapter: 5<p>

It was 3:00 am the night before Team 7's C rank mission and Naruto needed to get some things done before he headed out. He managed to get a couple of Hour's of sleep and was now up and about.

First he needed to somehow get his Hiraishin Kunai from Ten Ten's shop. He had forgotten to pick them up yesterday and he needed them for the 2nd thing he needed to do before his team left on their mission.

Now as for how he was going to get his custom made weapons from her shop, he wasn't sure but it didn't really matter he'd figure it out once he arrived.

XxX

(Outside of Ten Ten's Shop)

Naruto was standing outside of Ten Ten's shop and was contemplating breaking in and taking his weapons. He would leave the money for them on the counter of course.

He was about to make his move when he saw light shining out of one of the 2nd story windows. Naruto walked up the wall and peaked inside. He saw Ten Ten sitting at a desk writing on scrolls. 'She's probably making new storage scrolls for her weapons' he assumed.

Naruto knocked on the window getting Ten Ten to jump in her seat at the sudden knocking she heard from behind. She looked over with a confused and annoyed expression when she saw Naruto outside of her room.

She opened the Window "What're you doing out here? Do you know what time it is?" She said in a harsh whisper. "It's half past 3 and why I came here isn't important right now… well actually it is but that's not the point. I need to confess." Naruto replied.

"Confess?" Ten Ten said blushing slightly, which confused Naruto.

"Yeah, when I came here I was about to break into your house and take the weapons that you're dad made for me." Naruto said while rubbing the back of his head. Ten Ten gaped in response to his statement.

"Oh don't worry I was gonna leave the money on the counter" Naruto said reassuringly.

"That's not the point!" Ten Ten exclaimed before covering her mouth lest she wake up the neighbors.

"Well anyway since I'm here can you help me out? I'm leaving on a mission today and I need the weapons before then." Naruto said getting a sigh out of Ten Ten. "Sure why not, go wait out front I'll bring them out" Ten Ten replied before existing her room.

Naruto hopped down from the wall and walked to the front of the store. Ten Ten emerged shortly after with a bag in hand. "Here you go" She said as she thrust the bag towards him "I Included a bag that you can strap onto yourself to carry them."

"Thanks" Naruto replied as he handed her the money and with that he turned away from her shop and left waving goodbye to her over his shoulder. Naruto proceeded to mark every Kunai.

He then moved onto the second thing he needed to do before he left.

XxX

(Hokage Tower)

Naruto arrived at the Hokage tower after leaving Ten Ten's shop. Naruto was planning on stealing a couple of top secret forbidden scrolls. Not because he wanted to learn some new Justus's but more as a contingency plan in case he was ever found out. He could point towards the scrolls to explain how he was able to do x.y. and z.

Now obviously that wasn't a rock solid solution but it was better than nothing. Naruto took one of the Hiraishin Kunai and threw it at a window that was high up in the air. The second the Kunai made contact with the wall Naruto teleported to it "Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)".

In an instant Naruto was perpendicular to the wall standing by the window. He pried the window open slightly and touched the inside leaving his mark. He then once again activated his jutsu "Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)" and was instantaneously teleported inside.

Getting in was the hard part now he just needed to grab the scrolls and he could teleport back to his apartment. Naruto made his way to the room where the forbidden scrolls were held. He had been able to steal the scroll of seals the first time around so taking a couple of scrolls now was Childs play.

Though that didn't necessarily bode well for the village if stealing from the Hokage tower was this easy. Once Naruto made it to the room containing the forbidden scrolls he shifted through them until he found the ones he was looking for.

There were two scrolls that he picked out, one of them was written by the Nidaime Hokage which detailed the "Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)". And another scroll that was written by his father the Yondaime Hokage. Which contained detailed research on various sealing techniques. As well as studies on Biju Dama the technique, which the Rasengan is actually based off of.

With these two in hand Naruto activated his jutsu once more "Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)". And with that-

XxX

(Naruto's Apartment)

He was back in his apartment. Naruto hid the scrolls away and walked back out of his apartment to finish the 3rd and possibly most important thing he need to do before they left.

XxX

(Konoha: Center of Town)

For his last thing Naruto had decided to write a letter to Jiraiya. A letter that would contain information on the active Akatsuki members he hoped that it would be enough to get the ball rolling sooner rather than later.

Too this end Naruto found a rather good looking adult Chunin who was willing to deliver his message off the record for some cash on the side. He asked a Chunin because they would have the right to ask the Hokage to leave the village for personal reasons and she was good looking because that would make finding the Pervy Sage about 1000x easier.

He guessed she would find him in about a week and with any luck Jiraiya would come back to the village looking for some answers.

With that Naruto had finished what he had to do before him and his team left on their C rank mission. Now it was time to go meet them at the Hokage tower.

XxX

(Hokage Tower)

Naruto met up with his team outside the Hokage tower and walked in line with them until they reached the Hokage's office.

"Team 7 reporting in Hokage-sama." Kakashi said as they walked in.

"You're here to pick up your next mission?" The Hokage asked rhetorically. "Let's see Team 7's next mission will be hmm… to baby sit for the council of elders or to run errands to the neighboring village… To help dig sweet potatoes…" The Hokage listed off.

Naruto smirked, this was when he stepped in and stole the show. "No way! No thank you! Boring! Give us something different to do. Something important! Something amazing!" Naruto exclaimed 'nailed it' he thought to himself.

"Don't be a fool you're only a beginner everyone starts off doing the grunt work." Iruka yelled back.

"I'm tired of it we've done tons of small stuff can't we get some action?!" Naruto shouted back earning himself a lecture from the old man eventually leading to him giving in. Much to Naruto's delight.

The Hokage sighed, "Very well I will permit you to attempt a C grade mission typically reserved for Shinobi of the Journeyman level. The protection of certain individuals."

Naruto smiled 'another win for Uzumaki Naru-' He was suddenly cut off from his thought when he noticed what the Hokage had said. "Wait, wait, wait individuals? As in more than one?"

The Hokage nodded "allow me to introduce them" on his cue an old man and woman walked into his office. Naruto was starting to panic at what was going on!

"Hey old man what about the mission to Nami no Kuni?" Naruto asked the Hokage in a panic.

"Nami no Kuni?" The Hokage replied, "You mean the one with the bridge builder? How did you know about that?" He asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"How I know isn't important, why can't we go on that mission?" Naruto said hurriedly.

"That mission was already assigned earlier to a group of chunin. They were supposed to take a B rank mission but apparently their 4th member needed to leave the village suddenly for personal reason." The Hokage said getting Naruto to shudder slightly.

'Their 4th member had to leave for personal reasons don't tell me it was-' Naruto's thoughts were cut off by Kakashi placing a hand on his shoulder. "What are you getting so worked up over Naruto? You're getting what you asked for, now lets go."

With that Kakashi ushered everyone out of the Hokage's office and out to the front gates. 'What's going on?' Naruto thought to himself. 'This wasn't supposed to happen.

Naruto and his team had been assigned an entirely different mission than the first time around and there was nothing that Naruto could do about it.

XxX

(3 days later Kawa no Kuni)

Team 7 reached their destination and dropped off the two individuals that they were paid to protect. Unlike the C rank mission they went on the first time around this mission didn't have any unexpected twists. It was just an ordinary C rank mission.

Team 7 was about to head back home to Konoha before a messenger bird landed on Kakashi's shoulder getter the attention of all three genin. Kakashi unwrapped the message from the bird's foot and opened it. As he read what was inside his one visible eye widened tremendously.

"What is it? Kakashi sensei?" Naruto asked unable to hold back his curiosity any longer, something was definitely wrong going by Kakashi's expression. This had also not happened the first time around.

Kakashi looked over at his three genin very seriously before informing them of what had just occurred. "Team 10 was on a rudimentary border patrol mission when they ran into two S class rouge Shinobi." This got a collective gasp from Sasuke and Sakura.

Naruto on the other hand was freaking out internally his mind was racing at a million miles per hour. 'Two S class rouge Shinobi? Akatsuki? It can't be they're 3 years too early. This never happened before what's going on!' Naruto thought to himself.

Sakura looked up at Kakashi "what're we going to do?"

"This is a request for emergency assistance, Konoha should be sending out a suitable team as we speak but we're closer than they are." Kakashi replied in a serious manner he seemed to be deep in thought contemplating their next move before Naruto chimed in "We have to go help them! They wouldn't stand a chance on their own"

"And we would?" Sakura yelled back. Kakashi looked over at his three genin before finally making up his mind. "Let's go if we leave now we'll beat the backup from Konoha by half a day." Kakashi replied before getting them all to move out.

XxX

(West border of Hi no Kuni)

Kakashi lead team 7 to Team 10's reported Coordinates when they arrived they came upon a small cave, which they tentatively entered. When Naruto saw what was inside he felt a massive knot form in the pit of his stomach.

There, inside of the cave in front of them were Ino, Shikamaru and Chōji. Ino was sitting with her legs pulled up to her chest shivering. Shikamaru was sitting next to Chōji with his back against the wall, his face was buried in his arms and as for Chōji.

He was laying in a pile of his own blood with his left arm missing. Sakura was about to gasp at the sight before Sasuke quickly moved over and covered her mouth.

"What happened here?" Kakashi asked the members of Team 10. They were silent for a few seconds before Ino spoke up "They… they killed him." Ino said trying to hold back sobs.

'What's going on here! This was not supposed to happen. Damn it!' Naruto was yelling in his own mind. Ever since they left on their C rank mission nothing has gone the way it was supposed to. It was Naruto's fault it was something he did.

'This bad, very bad' Kakashi thought to himself as he looked over at the 6 genin he had with him. "We'll make camp here for the night the backup from Konoha will arrive within a few hours we need to hold out till then." Kakashi said commandingly.

Naruto was fighting every fiber in his being not to rush out then and there. He thought better of it though. If he were to run out now he would undoubtedly get the others involved something that he didn't want to do. For now he would wait until the others were asleep before he went out to find answers to a lot of his questions.

XxX

(2 Hours later)

The other genin had turned in for the night. Naruto formed a single Kage Bunshin and had it take his spot, pretending to sleep. He then rushed out of the cave.

"Kurama help me out where are they?"

"**Are you trying to get yourself killed boy?**"

"Kurama!"

"**Che… suit yourself, they're a mile and a half north of here.**"

That was all he needed to hear. Naruto raced as fast as he could until he reached the location Kurama had pointed him towards. When Naruto arrived his worst fears were realized.

Hanging there 25 feet in front of him impaled on a tree were Asuma and the Chunin that Naruto had hired to deliver his message to Jiraiya. Sitting underneath the tree were two men wearing black cloaks with read clouds on them.

It was Hidan and Kakuzu. Without even realizing it Naruto had started radiating Kurama's Chakra getting the attention of both Hidan and Kakuzu. Kakuzu looked over at Naruto and chuckled not missing the distinctive Chakra radiating off of him.

"Well if it isn't the nine tailed brat. Figuring out how to get to you was a thorn in our backside how nice of you too give your self over to us." Kakuzu said with a snarl.

"You bastards." Naruto growled out, his teeth sharpening, as were his fingernails, which turned into claws that were now digging into his clenched fists.

At that very moment Naruto was filled with intense hatred. This was his fault, all of it! Because of him Shikamaru lost his sensei. Shikamaru… his future right hand man and second in command. He would have given his life for Naruto if it came down to it and how did Naruto repay him for that? By taking away his sensei. Because of a careless shortsighted change he made, Shikamaru lost his sensei.

His best friend Chōji lost his arm. Those guys were never supposed to see something like this they hadn't even been ninja's for a month. Naruto could feel Kurama's hate pouring into him only amplifying what he already felt.

Intense anger and hatred for his enemy, for the Akatsuki, and even worse for himself. Naruto closed his eyes and clenched his fists even tighter in anger.

"This is too much" he said barely a whisper. 'Sensei I still remember the words you once said to me _"Even I can tell that hatred is spreading. I wanted to do something about it ... but I don't know what ... but I believe ... that someday the day will come when people truly understand one another! If I can't find the answer, it will be up to you to do it!"_

"And now… Even now I still believe them to be true!" Naruto opened his eyes and glared out at Hidan and Kakuzu.

"I swear on my name… and on my honor as Nanadaime Hokage of Konohagakure I will stop you!" Naruto said as he stomped his left foot forward crushing the ground beneath it as he entered a Frog Kata stance.

"I may not be able to bring back the lives that were lost… but I will stop you from taking anymore!" Naruto yelled out towards his foes.

At that moment Kakashi landed next to Naruto with a serious look on his face. "What are you doing here Kakashi sensei?" Naruto asked the white haired Jōnin. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Kakashi replied.

He looked over at Naruto who was covered with a red layer of the nine tails Chakra before he spoke. "I don't know what power you're using and at least for the moment, I don't care. Frankly all you've done since you became my student was surprise me."

"What are you trying to say Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"I'm saying don't hold back. We'll deal with the fall out once we get back to the village."

Naruto nodded in understanding "In that case I have a plan." Naruto said calmly his hate had started to subside when he remembered Jiraiya's words. "I'm all ears" Kakashi replied.

"You take the guy on the right with the face mask." Naruto said referring to Kakuzu "I'll take the other one."

Kakashi looked down at Naruto "You're going to take one of them on by yourself?" Kakashi said with his one visible eye widening.

"You're going to have to trust me sensei." Naruto replied with a serious expression. Kakashi simply nodded its not like they had much of a choice in the matter

"So how do we separate them?" Kakashi asked. Naruto looked over at him "Leave it to me" Naruto said as he patted Kakashi on the back leaving one of his marks just in case he needed to teleport in to help Kakashi out of a jam.

Naruto then brandished a Hiraishin Kunai, which got a wide-eyed reaction out of Kakashi. Naruto took the weapon and threw it right at Hidan. Before it could hit Hidan moved his scythe to block it, that was Naruto cue to active his jutsu "Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)"

Naruto was instantly teleported to the Hiraishin Kunai seconds before it made contact with Hidan. Naruto grabbed the Kunai and spun around in mid air delivering a powerful backwards kick that sent Hidan flying back 50 feet. Kurama's Chakra had given Naruto a major increase in raw power. Naruto ran towards the direction he'd just sent Hidan flying in.

Kakashi was still trying to take in what he'd just seen before he refocused on the issue at hand, his own opponent Kakuzu. Kakashi lifted his Hitai-ate reveling his Sharingan.

XxX

(With Naruto and Hidan)

Naruto appeared in front of Hidan who was unscathed from Naruto's previous attack. Not that he didn't expect as much the point of the kick was to separate Hidan from his partner nothing more.

"You blasphemous bastard. I hate capturing you jinchuuriki because we're not allowed to kill you. Your blood shall be an offering to Lord Jashin. I pray that he forgives me for not killing you where you stand." Hidan said in a tirade of religious nonsense.

Naruto stood at the ready he knew from what he'd been told that Hidan's weird ability is activated when he ingests your blood so that meant that Naruto needed to keep his distance.

Naruto took 10 Hiraishin Kunai and threw them around the area giving him multiple spots to teleport to. He then formed his patented hand seal "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (shadow clone jutsu)" and with that 5 clones popped into existence and surrounded Hidan.

"You think this is enough to beat me you ugly son of a bi-" Hidan started but was cut off when Naruto rushed at him. Naruto threw a Hiraishin Kunai which Hidan simply dodged. He had already seen what Naruto could do with them so this time he was ready. Naruto teleported to the Kunai just as it past Hidan's head "Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)"

Hidan was waiting for that and swung his scythe where Naruto had appeared in that instant Naruto released the Kunai from his hand 'Kage Hiraishin' he then instantaneously switched places with one of his Kage Bunshin. Hidan's attack connected resulting in the popping of the Kage Bunshin much to the surprise of Hidan.

Naruto then teleported back to the Hiraishin Kunai which was now floating in mid air around Hidan's shoulder "Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)"

Naruto reappeared at the Kunai's location. Hidan was still overextended from his previous attack so he couldn't counter.

Naruto caught the Kunai and buried it into Hidan's shoulder. He used that for leverage to swing himself at Hidan's back and latch himself on. Naruto then ordered his four remaining clones to charge at Hidan Rasengan in hand. "Rasen Chō Tarengan (Rasengan Super Barrage)"

Naruto let go of Hidan as the attack hit to avoid being sent flying with him. The 4 Rasengan hit him straight on and sent him flying back into a large tree. Naruto tentatively walked over to the fallen Hidan half expecting him to get up since he'd been told that Hidan was immortal.

When Naruto arrived in front of the fallen Hidan he cursed under his breath. It wasn't the real Hidan he'd been fighting it was someone else. Itachi once used this Jutsu on him when they first fought.

Naruto collected his Hiraishin Kunai from around the area and picked up the corpse as he made his way over to Kakashi sensei.

Knowing him though he'd already have managed something against the fake Kakuzu.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5 done. Thank you to all of the awesome people the ReadReviewed and Favorited/Followed my story it means a lot. Let me know what you think of this chapter in the form of a review. I love feedback it keeps me going!**

** So there you have it Naruto made a small change that resulted in a big change bam. The stories going to diverge starting right about now so that should be fun.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Bold text in the chapter is Kurama's dialogue.

* * *

><p>Chapter: 6<p>

Naruto dragged the corpse he had just defeated behind him as he made his way back to his sensei. The fake Hidan wasn't too tough. Kakashi was more than enough to take out a fake Kakuzu.

When Naruto arrived he saw Kakashi standing over a dead body surrounded by a group of Konoha Shinobi, presumably the back up team that the village sent. Asuma and the female Chunin had been removed from the tree.

One of the people sent from the village to back them up was Kurenai. She was supposed to be the mother of his future child. Naruto wasn't sure whether or not they were an item at this point but if the look on Kurenai's face were any indication he would say that they were.

Now that's not to say that Kurenai was openly showing her emotions because she wasn't. She had steeled herself and put on an impassive mask, one that would make any Konoha Shinobi proud but Naruto could still tell what was underneath it, he always could.

As Naruto walked up all eyes focused on him not that he minded the attention. He dropped the corpse down on the ground behind him as he heard one of the Jōnin with a senbon in his mouth speak. "How the hell did they defeat Asuma?"

Naruto took this as his cue to step in "This one has a weird ability" Naruto said gesturing at the corpse behind him. "When he ingests your blood he links his body to yours so any damage he suffers you suffer, on top of that he's also kinda immortal." 'Hidan must have gotten some of Asuma's blood when he tried to stall to give his team enough time to run away.' Naruto thought to himself.

"How did you beat him then?" The Jōnin with the senbon in his mouth asked. "These guys are fakes" Naruto replied "When they run out of the Chakra given to them by the originals they turn into what you see here."

With that Naruto turned and started back towards the others, Kakashi quickly caught up and walked in line with Naruto. "We need to talk Naruto." The silver haired Jōnin stated. "The Hokage will probably have some questions of his own as well." He continued.

Naruto nodded "Why not kill two birds with one stone then." His attention was then drawn towards Sasuke glaring at him and Kakashi "What's up with Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"He saw." Was the only thing Kakashi said in reply.

As they walked up to the entrance of the cave Sakura came running out to them. "Are you guys alright? When I woke up you two and Sasuke were gone."

When Kakashi found him Naruto dispelled the Kage Bunshin that he had pretending to be him back at the cave since there was no hiding it at that point.

"We had to take care of a few things." Kakashi said lazily.

Sakura looked around and behind them "Where's Sasuke he's not with you?" Sakura asked.

"He's over there with the backup squad" Naruto said pointing in the direction they just came from which resulted in her running off to find her crush.

Naruto looked into the cave to see Chōji, Ino, and Shikamaru still inside. Chōji was being looked over by a medic nin. Naruto felt a lump form in his throat as he saw them sitting there. Kakashi noticed Naruto's troubled expression and put a hand on his shoulder "They're going to be okay" he said reassuringly "They come from a long line a Shinobi something like this won't be enough to stop them.

Naruto looked up at him "I know they will Kakashi sensei" the blond genin replied 'I'll make sure of it.' Naruto looked over towards Shikamaru 'I can't take back what I've done but I promise you I will make it right… somehow.' Naruto thought to himself as he walked away to clear his mind.

XxX

(2 Days later Hokage Tower)

Team 7 along with the backup squad as well as team 10 headed back to Konoha shortly thereafter. They arrived back home in 2 days and now Naruto was standing in the Hokage's office next to Kakashi.

The Sandaime Hokage took a long drag from his pipe before speaking to the blond genin.

"Naruto…" He said letting it hang in the air "There were some troubling things that I read in the report that Kakashi had sent ahead of your arrival." The old Hokage finished.

Naruto looked up at Kakashi who had a serious look on his face and then back at the Sandaime Hokage. "I can explain?" Naruto stated/questioned

"Please do." The Hokage stated flatly which caused Kakashi to perk up and look at Naruto in anticipation of his explanation.

'Crap Kakashi said that '_we'_ would deal with the fallout yet he's just standing there we my ass!' "Where should I begin?" Naruto asked looking up at the Hokage.

"How can you do the 4th Hokage's jutsu?" Kakashi suddenly asked before the 3rd could speak.

Naruto looked at his sensei "Well it is my fathers jutsu."

Kakashi's eye widened before the 3rd chimed in "So you found out who your father was?" Naruto nodded in response.

"That still doesn't explain how you use his jutsu." The Hokage stated plainly.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly 'well isn't this a beautiful situation?' Naruto thought to himself. He was never a very good liar he wore his heart on his sleeve so he really only had one choice.

'Hopefully I can shock them enough to not notice that I'm stretching the truth.'

Naruto looked at the 2 men standing in the room and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "My dad taught me how to do it." Naruto stated as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Kakashi actually gasped at this. The 3rd Hokage however did not "Naruto! This is not the time for fun and games. The Yondaime Hokage passed away long ago during the Kyuubi attack you know that." He exclaimed.

Naruto put on a serious expression before putting his hand over his stomach where his seal was located. "When my dad sealed the Kyuubi away he placed a piece of himself as well as my mother inside of the seal to help me out if the need ever arose."

"You're actually saying that you met with your father and that he thought you his technique." The 3rd asked not really buying what Naruto was saying.

"Not so much taught more like passed on. He gave bits and pieces of his memory to me. I had to fill in the blanks my self." Naruto replied.

"Is that why you stole those scrolls?" The Hokage asked. "You knew about that?" Naruto replied getting a nod out of the 3rd.

"Kakashi also informed me that you were using the Kyuubi's Chakra in your fight against the two S class rogue Shinobi. I called back my former student to make sure the seal is holding up. What would you have done if the Kyuubi had escaped during the battle do you realize the amount of damage and deaths that would have caused." The Hokage said in a serious tone.

"There's nothing wrong with the seal old man me and Kurama are on somewhat cordial terms." Naruto replied getting the two men to raise their eyebrows in tandem.

"Kurama?" They both said in unison.

"The Kyuubi" Naruto answered.

"You know its name?" Kakashi asked. Before Naruto could answer The Hokage slammed his hand down on his desk "Naruto talking to the demon is very dangerous. You're just a child you couldn't possibly understand what it's capable of."

"I understand well enough Hokage-sama. My father the Yondaime Hokage stored Kurama in me for a reason. When I spoke to him he told me how the Kyuubi got in the village and the man that was responsible. He placed Kurama within me in the hopes that I could master his Chakra and defeat the one responsible for attacking the village." Naruto finished.

The Hokage was actually visibly shaken by the respectful yet confident tone that Naruto put on. For a second he could have sworn that Minato was in front of him.

"Very well Naruto. I understand the situation well enough I'd still like to have my student check the seal for my peace of mind if nothing else. I'm sure he'd be excited to meet you. His name is Jiraiya he was your fathers sensei." The Hokage said calmly.

Naruto nodded, he had been wondering when he would get the chance to meet Jiraiya. "There is also something else that I wanted to bring up Hokage-sama." Naruto added.

"What is it?"

"The two men me and Kakashi sensei encountered claimed to be from an organization known as the Akatsuki there goal seems to be to capture all of the Biju."

"Is this true Kakashi?" The Hokage asked

"Yes Hokage-sama from what I saw and heard they seemed to be aware of what Naruto had within him and they seemed interested in obtaining it." The silver haired Jōnin replied.

The Hokage nodded "So what did you have to say in regards to this Naruto?"

"There is another like me in Suna I'm sure you've heard of him." Naruto replied. The Hokage nodded "Yes I have, the Kazekage's child."

"I intend to reach out to him secretly without the Kazekage finding out." Naruto continued.

"You intend to go to Suna alone." The Sandaime Hokage asked in disbelief.

"Not alone, I wanted to go with a small team if possible." Naruto answered.

"A team?" The Hokage asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes a team comprised of myself as well as 3 genin that I was planning on asking to come along." Naruto said matter of factly.

"You think you could get into Suna and reach the Kazekage's child without being detected with just yourself and a few genin." The Hokage asked in exasperatedly. A nod from Naruto was his answer.

"Naruto how strong are you." The 3rd asked.

"Don't test me old man." Naruto replied.

The two stared at each other and the temperature in the room appeared to drop. Kakashi watched as the battle of wills unfolded. The Hokage and Kakashi sensed Naruto slowly building up Chakra.

Naruto smirked he was about to unleash his ultimate jutsu. A jutsu that he'd spent the better part of 20 years perfecting. Naruto put his hands together in a familiar hand sign. The Hokage gaped in response while Kakashi uncovered his Sharingan in the hopes that he could copy the jutsu.

'Fat chance' Naruto thought to himself. This jutsu had taken him over 2 decades to master there was no way Kakashi could imitate it even with the help of his Sharingan.

With that Naruto unleashed his ultimate technique "Oiroke no Jutsu Mitsugo (Sexy Jutsu Triplets)" In an instant 3 beautiful women appeared in the nude in front of Kakashi and the 3rd Hokage. One rubbed up against Kakashi while the other two got on top of the Hokage's desk seductively. Naruto got the response he was looking for when Both Kakashi and the 3rd Hokage were sent flying back with blood spurting from their noses.

XxX

(10 minutes later)

It took a little while for the two of them to compose themselves.

The Hokage was the first to speak "That was quite something I don't recall it ever being so-"

"Awesome" Naruto replied cutting the 3rd off. Kakashi nodded in agreement of Naruto's statement.

"Ahem… Let's get back to the matter at hand shall we." The Hokage said getting them all to focus again.

"Naruto what is it exactly that you intend to do with the Kazekage's son." The Sandaime Hokage asked.

"It's better if you don't know old man. On the off chance we get caught you can plead ignorance. I mean who that hell would send in a bunch of 12 year old's for something like this." "I'll round up a group of people to come along and be gone before tomorrow morning." Naruto finished.

The Hokage looked hesitant until Naruto assured him "Don't worry old man if things get harry I could always just teleport everyone back here." Upon saying this the Hokage seemed to relax a little.

"Very well Naruto I will give you this chance. There are still some things that I want to know but this is enough for now. You're dismissed." The Hokage said signifying the end of the meeting. Before Naruto left he turned to his sensei "Kakashi-sensei can you do me a favor."

"What is it Naruto" he replied.

"Can you look out for Chōji. I heard that he's getting a prosthetic arm made for him. Could you have him train with team 7 while I'm gone." Naruto said waiting for his sensei's response.

Kakashi nodded "Sure thing Naruto."

With that Naruto left the Hokage's office.

XxX

(Outside of Hokage's tower)

Naruto clutched his right arm and held back a grunt of pain. His arm felt like thousands of needles were being driven into it. It had been this way since he fought Hidan. He hopped it would heal like everything else always did but even after two days the pain was still there.

XxX

(With Kakashi and the Hokage)

"Do you trust him Kakashi?" The old tired Hokage asked the silver haired Jōnin.

"I do Hokage-sama"

"So you believe everything he just told us?"

"Not entirely… but still underneath everything he's still Naruto the kid that wants to become Hokage I don't think he would ever do anything to harm the village… at least not intentionally." Kakashi replied.

"What are you trying to say Kakashi?"

"I'm not sure yet Hokage-sama there's no denying that Naruto is hiding something. I mean, a month ago Naruto couldn't even create a Bunshin according to Iruka's report then suddenly 2 days ago he displayed the ability to use space time Ninjutsu. Something like that couldn't have been learned so quickly even if Minato Sensei was the one that taught him."

The Hokage nodded in reply "So what do you suggest we do going forward Kakashi?"

"Like I said I don't believe that Naruto could ever intentionally hurt the village, I suggest for the time being we just watch and allow him to carry out whatever plans he has for the Kazekage's son." Kakashi finished before speaking up once again.

"Hokage-sama I have not known Naruto for as long as you have but there are times when I see something within him deep inside. At first I thought that I was seeing glimpses of Minato Sensei within him but the more I looked the more I realized it was something different, something more. I don't know how to describe it but it makes me want to give him a chance."

"Do you know what Naruto said his dream was when I asked him the first day we met?" Kakashi asked.

"To become Hokage as it's always been." The Sandaime Hokage replied.

"Yes but that's not all when I asked him what his dream was he said "_My dream to become the Hokage and to end the cycle of hatred that persists in the Shinobi world._" The Hokage's eye went wide at hearing this before Kakashi continued "A goal like that is even loftier than becoming the Hokage… but even still call me crazy but I think that Naruto could actually pull it off."

XxX

(Training field)

Naruto had made his way to the training field where he first showed Hinata the Rasengan on the off chance of finding her. Naruto walked past the trees into the clearing to find Hinata sitting on the ground leaning against a tree. Her hair was messy and her clothes were disheveled. It was about 5 minutes past 10 at night.

'She's been training all this time?' Naruto said to himself as he walked up to the downed Hinata. He bent down to get closer to her. "What am I going to do with you?" Naruto said as he looked at the sleeping Hinata "Sleeping defenselessly all the way out here."

He brushed her hair away revealing her peaceful sleeping face. Naruto bent down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. He was about to pick Hinata up and take her home when suddenly someone yelled out "Get away from my sister you pervert!"

'Pervert?' Naruto thought to himself, he was about to turn around until he felt a searing pain that shot through the right side of his back. "2 Finger Chakra Strike"

Naruto turned around to see his attacker "Hanabi?" He said recognizing Hinata's little sister.

"How do you know my name?" She yelled back "You're a pervert and a stalker!" She exclaimed.

"Hey who are you calling a pervert?" Naruto yelled back while rubbing his right side.

'That wasn't enough to take him down' the little Hyūga thought to herself. 'He's a formidable opponent.' With no other options left to her Hanabi turned around and started running back towards her home yelling, "Help otousama!"

"Nooo wait!" Naruto yelled out realizing that Hanabi was trying to call her father Hiashi Hyūga. Naruto ran out of the clearing chasing after Hinata's little sister.

XxX

(With Hinata)

Hinata opened her eyes after she was sure that the coast was clear "N-Naruto-kun K-Kissed me." She said in disbelief with her cheeks reddening more than they ever had before. Suddenly she heard rustling coming from the tree's and closed her eyes once again.

XxX

(With Naruto)

Naruto had taken off to run after Hanabi before stopping himself and looking back where he came from. 'I can't just leave Hinata laying there by herself.' With that thought Naruto turned around and headed back towards Hinata. He didn't create a Kage Bunshin to go after Hanabi because of the pain that he was feeling in his arm. The pain seemed to get worse whenever he tried to mold chakra.

Naruto arrived back in the clearing where he found Hinata previously. She was still lying there in the same spot as before. Naruto walked up to her and lifted her up in his hands bridal style. She was light as he expected but there was something different, her breathing, he could sense that she wasn't sleeping. Naruto turned to walk towards his home while carrying Hinata in his hands. "Hinata-chan you can open your eyes I know that your awake." Naruto said sweetly.

Hinata tentatively opened her eyes to see Naruto looking straight at her. She was to exhausted to react to this situation in her usual manner. "You were pretending to be asleep before as well weren't you." Naruto added in a teasing Voice.

She simply nodded in reply "You're such a tease Hinata first I find you laying in a clearing completely helpless and now your laying in my arms much the same way. If I didn't know any better I'd think you were doing it on purpose."

"Eh!?" Hinata chirped out "I-I wouldn't do something like that." Hinata said in a hurry. Naruto just looked down at her "That still doesn't change the situation your in. Your completely helpless I could do anything to you right now."

Having said that Naruto bent his head down and planted his lips on Hinata's "hmm!" Hinata yelled out her mouth covered by Naruto's. Naruto pulled his mouth away from Hinata's after a few seconds and looked at her slyly "Consider that payback for pretending to be asleep before."

Hinata's face turned completely red before she clutched Naruto's shirt tightly and buried her head into his chest trying desperately to hide her embarrassment. Naruto chuckled at seeing her reaction "That was your first kiss huh?" Naruto said calmly "I guess that was also my first kiss, technically."

"Two times." Hinata said into Naruto's chest her statement was barely audible. "What was that Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked not understanding what she meant. Hinata clutched Naruto's shirt even tighter "Two times… You K-Kissed me two times today Naruto-kun" Hinata said slightly louder than before.

"Is that a problem?" Naruto asked promptly.

"Eh!?" Hinata said in response to Naruto's statement.

"I was planning on holding off on this for a little while but with you looking the way that you did I couldn't help myself."

Hinata slowly pulled her head away from Naruto's chest to look up at him tentatively. She quickly shot her head back down when she saw how seriously he was looking at her. Naruto chuckled "Don't worry about it to much for now you look exhausted we'll deal with this when the time comes. With that Hinata seemed to drift to sleep in Naruto's arms.

XxX

(Naruto's apartment)

Naruto arrived at his home still holding Hinata in his arms. He would have taken her home but thought better of it remembering that Hanabi Hinata's little sister had run to their home crying out for her fathers help. If there was one thing Naruto wanted to avoid it was a pissed off father.

Naruto carried Hinata to his bedroom and gently laid Hinata down on his bed, he then proceeded to cover her with the sheets. "Goodnight Hinata-chan" He said before turning off the lights and heading for the living room to the couch, which would serve as his bed for the night.

Naruto laid down on the couch and looked up at the ceiling deep in thought. Naruto clutched his arm, which was still in pain. He had a general idea of the cause of his discomfort but it wasn't pleasant. He was trying to avoid dealing with it hoping it would just fix itself before his fury ball of mass destruction decided to call him on it.

"**It's that damn teleportation jutsu. You've been too reliant on it and in turn it's destroying your chakra network. Damage like that even I can't fix.**"

"What am I supposed to do about that. I've been training my chakra network as much as I can as it is there's nothing else I can do!"

"**Unless you want to lose the ability to mold chakra forever you only have one choice. You already know what that is.**"

Naruto knew exactly what Kurama was insinuating. He would need to stop using the "Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)" until further notice.

"If I lose that jutsu what will I have left? The Rasengan and the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu? How the hell am I supposed to fight the Akatsuki with just that?"

"**Quit your whining brat that's still a hell of a lot more than you could do a month ago. Is something like this really all it takes to make you quit? Are you just going to lay down and die when the Akatsuki decide to come for you?**"

"You're right… my bad Kurama I lost it there for a sec."

"**Che…**"

"If I can't use that jutsu anymore than I'll just use another. I'll train harder than ever to get back to what I once was."

"**So you've found your resolve brat?**"

"Yeah I have… Thanks to you partner."

"**Partner?**"

"You heard me. I may not be strong enough to fight along side you the way I am now but I promise that someday I will be. Wait for me Kurama I meant what I said to you when we first spoke. I will stop all those that have wronged you as well as all the other Biju."

"**You intend to help all of the Biju!?**"

"I do."

"**Che…**"

"Goodnight Kurama." Naruto said as he drifted off to sleep.

"**…**"

'**It took long enough old man… I think I finally found the one who you once spoke of.**' Kurama thought to himself as he also drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6 done sorry for the late upload. I had finals to take this weekend so I was a little busy.<strong>

**Thank you to all of the awesome people that review/read and favorite/follow my story it means a lot. I'll try to have Chapter 7 up ****soon. Leave a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter or this story as a whole so far. Until Chapter 7 see ya!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Bold text in the chapter is Kurama's dialogue.

* * *

><p>Chapter: 7<p>

Naruto awoke after sleeping for a few hours. The sun had yet to rise and Hinata was still asleep in his room. Naruto had a few things to take care of before he started the day.

Today was the day he planned on secretly heading out to Suna. He told the Hokage of his plans… vaguely at least. Now it was up to Naruto to execute them. First he needed to head over to Ten Ten's shop. Naruto was planning on purchasing leg and wrist weights.

After his discussion with Kurama Naruto realized what he had to do. No more taking shortcuts by using Chakra and techniques to make up for his physical shortcomings. There was no substitute for good old fashion hard work something he knew in his previous life.

XxX

(Ten Ten's shop)

It was 4:00 am and Naruto had once again arrived at Ten Ten's home at an obscene hour. This time however Ten Ten's light was off. Naruto picked up a rock and threw it at her window. "Ten Ten!" Naruto whispered harshly getting no reply.

Naruto then picked up two rocks he prepared to throw them back-to-back. He threw the first one "Ten Ten" he whispered harshly getting no reply. He threw the second one when suddenly the window opened and a head popped out "Wha-" Ten Ten started before a rock hit her in the head and sent her flying back.

She jumped back up while rubbing her head and stuck her head back out the window "Who the hell threw that?" she shouted before looking down and seeing Naruto looking back at her.

"Naruto? What the hell are you doing here?" She asked the blonde genin.

Naruto looked up at her with a serious expression "Ten Ten I need you!" Naruto yelled before scaling the wall and stopping when he was face to face with her. A slight blush appeared on her face confusing Naruto once again.

"You need me?" She asked getting a nod out of Naruto. "I needed to buy leg and wrist weights but your shop is closed." Naruto stated nonchalantly getting Ten Ten to face fault.

"Why the hell do you keep showing up at odd hours of the night looking for Ninja tools?"

Naruto just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "I always forget, and I end up remembering at the last minute. Now that your already awake you think you could help me, please." Naruto pleaded.

Ten Ten sighed "Fine, Fine let me open up, meet me in front of the store.

Naruto did as asked and hopped down and waited for Ten Ten. She arrived shortly thereafter and opened the door to her shop. "So what were you looking for exactly?" Ten Ten asked.

"I needed leg and wrist weights preferably ones that can have their weight controlled with Chakra."

"I have just the thing for you" Ten Ten said before pulling out a large box. "This is a full body set. It has 5 pieces one for every limb as well as a weighted vest for your torso."

"This is prefect" Naruto said "I'll taking it."

Ten Ten nodded "Is there anything else that you need?"

"Do you guys sell any clothing here?" Naruto asked.

"We do though its not much your free to take a look if you like."

Naruto nodded and proceeded to look through the shops clothing section. Ten Ten wasn't lying when she said that there wasn't much, not that it mattered to Naruto he didn't need anything too fancy.

Naruto shifted through the clothes until he found a shirt that stuck out to him, It was an orange long sleeve shirt that had a black stripe along the bottom it was eerily similar to the one he wore as Hokage. Naruto picked it up as well as a black pair of pants and shoes completing the out fit.

"I'll take this as well." Ten Ten nodded and proceeded to pack it up along with his weights. "Do you have anywhere I can change?" Naruto asked "You can use the bathroom down the hall if you like." She replied.

Naruto took the things that he had bought and preceded to change into them he put on all 5 weights and his new outfit. Naruto added Chakra to the weights until it was difficult to move. If he had to guess he'd say that he was holding 125 pounds.

Naruto existed the bathroom and waved bye to Ten Ten before heading off to the first person that he needed to visit.

XxX

(Nara Compound)

It was 5:00 am as Naruto made his way into the Nara compound. The sun was just starting to come up and as lazy as Shikamaru was Naruto knew that his mom would force him to be up on time. Which made it easier for Naruto in the end.

When Naruto walked up to Shikamaru's house he found the lazy pineapple haired genin playing Shogi by himself. A numb pain shot through Naruto 'It's my fault that he's playing alone.' Naruto put his thoughts aside and put on a bright smile as he approached the lazy genin.

"Yo Shikamaru." Naruto said full of energy like he had a tendency to do in the academy.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" He asked.

"We'll get to that for now just come with me." Naruto said as he grabbed Shikamaru's arm and dragged him along.

"Wait where are you taking me?"

"We need to stop by Ino's place first. I'll explain the rest when we get to my apartment."

"This is such a drag" the pineapple haired genin replied.

XxX

(Yamanaka flower shop)

Naruto barged into the shop still dragging Shikamaru by his arm. Ino was standing behind the counter setting up for the day when she saw them.

"Naruto? Shikamaru?" What are you two doing here?"

Naruto grabbed her arm with his free hand and dragged her along with Shikamaru "Just come with us I'll explain when we get to my place."

XxX

(Naruto's apartment)

Naruto walked into his apartment still dragging Ino and Shikamaru behind him. When they arrived at the living room they saw Hinata walk out from Naruto's bedroom.

"Naruto-kun?" She said in a tired tone as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. Her clothes and hair were still disheveled from her training. Shikamaru and Ino gaped in response to seeing Hinata exist Naruto's room.

"W-What are you doing here Hinata?" Ino sputter while pointing at the disheveled Hyūga.

Naruto just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly knowing all to well what this situation looked like. A huge blush crossed Hinata's face when she realized where she was.

"That doesn't matter now." Naruto interjected "Now that everyone's here we can begin."

"Begin what?" Shikamaru asked as he sat down. Naruto gestured for the others to do the same.

"I brought you all here today because I want you to accompany me on a top secret mission to Suna." Naruto said getting his fellow three genin to go wide eyed.

"You want us to go all the way to Suna with you? Why?" Ino asked incredulously.

"There's someone there that I need to see. A friend of mine his name is Gaara… although he'll probably want to kill me when he sees me." Naruto said nonchalantly.

"That doesn't answer her question Naruto. Why do you want us to come with you?" Shikamaru asked with a serious expression.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked honestly confused.

"We heard what you did Naruto…" Ino said letting it hang in the air "You beat one of the guys that killed…" She trailed off without finishing.

Naruto's expression turned solemn when he saw the look in Ino's and Shikamaru's eyes. They looked like the eyes of someone who had lost the will to fight.

Naruto steeled himself "I'm asking you to come with me because I need your help. No one can do everything by themselves no matter how strong they may or may not be."

"Look guys" Naruto continued "This is very important it could potentially save a lot of lives. Now I know that we don't know each other that well but it shouldn't matter. I'm offering you a chance to be a part of something. Now I don't know exactly what that something is yet but what I do know is that it's important."

"The people that killed Asuma Sensei they're part of a group called the Akatsuki. They're hunting down people like my friend Gaara. I want to stop them from hurting him or anyone else. Now I'll ask you again will you come with me." Naruto finished.

The look in Ino and Shikamaru's eyes changed there was still some uncertainty present but something even more powerful was there… determination.

"What do we have to do?" Shikamaru asked in an unwavering voice.

"We need to get into Suna with out being detected and capture Gaara." Naruto replied.

"Capture?" Ino questioned, "Why do we need to capture him."

"Like I said before when he sees me he'll probably try to kill me… well not just me all of us."

"What!" Ino and Shikamaru exclaimed in unison.

Naruto just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly something that he did quite often when he was lost for words.

"So how about it will you come?" Naruto asked anxiously wondering what their answer would be.

The two genin's looked at each other before Ino spoke up "When do we leave?"

"Now." Naruto replied

"How can we just up and leave the village? I haven't even told my parents yet." she added.

"It's better if you don't tell them. Like I said this mission is supposed to be a secret. The only people that know about it are Kakashi sensei and the Hokage and even they only know vague details."

"Can we at least go home and pack supplies to get ready?" Ino asked.

"No, there's a chance that your parents might start asking questions. It wouldn't be the end of the world if they found out but I'd still prefer if we could leave without attracting too much attention to ourselves." Naruto said before continuing, "Feel free to raid my supply of Ninja tools there's not much but it should be enough."

Naruto then looked at Hinata who was looking right back at him in a determined fashion "You've been awfully quite Hinata-chan. So… will you come along with me as well?" Hinata nodded in reply.

"It could be dangerous you know. We'd be breaking into another hidden village and kidnapping a rather important person."

"I'll still go." Hinata said her resolve still strong. Naruto just smiled what else could he do he was impressed.

Naruto placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder causing her look of determination to falter slightly much to Naruto's amusement this little back and forth didn't get past Ino, she looked at the two with a raised eyebrow. Before she could say anything Naruto looked over the group and said "Alright the mission starts now!"

XxX

(12 hours later)

Naruto along with his team comprised by Hinata, Ino, and Shikamaru stopped and made camp for the night. They'd been traveling for half a day at this rate they would reach Suna tomorrow and Naruto wanted to make sure that everyone was rested for what was to come.

Hinata and Shikamaru were sitting across from one another separated by a fire when Ino walked up to the two of them. She finished setting up their makeshift tents and proceeded to sit down next to Hinata.

Ino looked around to make sure Naruto wasn't there, she then looked at Hinata before starting.

"So…" Ino said letting it hang in the air "What's going on between you and Naruto?"

Ino's sudden question caused Hinata's face to turn completely red "Eh!?" She chirped out. Hinata had been in denial since she woke up that morning passing off what happened with Naruto as some kind of dream. Ino's question however made her think that she somehow knew something.

"You heard me." Ino replied.

"There's n-nothing going on between me and N-Naruto-kun." She said while pressing her two index fingers together.

"You're so full of it Hinata I saw you walk out of Naruto's bedroom this morning."

This caused Hinata's face to redden even further.

"And its not just that" Ino added, "It's the way he looks at you… I don't know how to explain it but its like there's this loneliness there hiding just below the surface. He does a good job hiding it most of the time but when he looks at you his mask seems to falter."

"I've noticed that as well" Shikamaru added "Sometimes when he talks to me it's like he see's someone else… Someone more. He knows just what to say to get me riled up and motivated. Me…" Shikamaru said as he tossed a stone into the fire.

"For the longest time I was content with doing as little as possible for as long as possible. But now look at me… Here I am following Naruto into god knows what. It's all so trouble some…"

"You think Naruto-kun is lonely?" Hinata chimed in, having recovered from Ino's previous assault.

"I don't know if I would put it the same way Ino did but yeah… I guess he is. He seems like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders." Shikamaru replied.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.

Shikamaru shrugged "I don't know." He said as he laid back and looked up at the stars "There is one thing I do know though… Naruto's changed. Now good or bad you be the judge but… When we were in the academy Naruto was one of the uncool guys like myself just doing enough to get by. And now-"

"And now he's different." Ino started interrupting Shikamaru "He's not the orange clad blond loudmouth that we saw in the academy. The way he speaks there's this powerful aura that seems to surround him and those around him." Ino said finishing Shikamaru's thought.

"Even still…" Shikamaru continued after Ino was finished "No one can take on the load that he seems to have taken upon himself. I hope he takes the same advice that he gave us and finds someone that he can rely on."

"I didn't know you were so deep Shikamaru." Ino teased as she stood up.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru said in reply as he got up as well.

The two genin headed off to the makeshift tents to sleep for the night before Ino turned around and looked back at Hinata who was still standing by the now extinguished fire.

"Are you coming Hinata?" Ino yelled out.

"I'll be there soon." Hinata said in reply. She then turned around and activated her clan's dōjutsu. "Byakugan" She scanned the area until she found Naruto sitting by himself about 400 feet north of her position. With that she started off towards Naruto.

XxX

(With Naruto)

Naruto sat leaning against a tree looking out towards the night sky. "Kurama…" Naruto started "Do you have something that you want to protect?"

"…"

"I do… or did, I don't even know anymore." As Naruto said that Hinata landed near him.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hey Hinata-chan what's up. Naruto said while waving at her. He adorned his happy mask once again."

"Do you mind if I sit… with you?" She said while fidgeting nervously.

"Sure" Naruto said patting the space on the ground next to him.

Hinata came over and sat down leaning against the tree next to him. She looked up at him and into his eyes intently actually surprising Naruto. Hinata seemed to be looking for something in him.

"What's the matter Hinata-chan?" Naruto said waking Hinata from her reprieve.

"Are you lonely Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked bluntly.

"What kind of question is that?" Naruto said surprised by Hinata's statement.

"It's just that… You seem so faraway at times. When you think no ones looking you drop your smile."

"Is that what your worried about?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Don't worry about it too much Hinata I'm a big boy." Naruto said attempting to wave off her concerns.

"But I am worried Naruto-kun!" Hinata shot back in a surprisingly aggressive manner.

"Hinata…" Naruto said taken aback by her outburst.

"I-If it wouldn't be too much to ask." Hinata started, she then glanced over at Naruto and then right back at the ground "and if you think I'm good enough" Hinata continued while fidgeting "Could you talk to me… about the things that are bothering you?" Hinata finished and looked up at Naruto with nervous eyes fearing rejection. 'She actually thinks I could say no to that?'

Naruto let out a laugh 'Kurama I think I've found what it is that I want to protect.'

"Why are you laughing?" Hinata asked nervously with a hint of anger in her voice.

Naruto just looked at Hinata for a second before lifting her up and onto his lap. He wrapped Hinata in a tight hug his face was now a few inches from hers. Hinata's face started turning red as she realized what was about to happen.

"I'm going to kiss you Hinata Naruto said as he planted his lips on Hinata's.

"Eh! Mmmh" Hinata muffled out with her mouth now sealed off by Naruto's.

Naruto pulled his lips away from Hinata's after a few seconds and let out a chuckle when he saw the look on her face. She was completely red and was attempting to hide her face. She tried pulling away only resulting in Naruto tightening his hold on her even more. Hinata settled for burying her head into his chest.

"You held your breath the entire time didn't you?" Naruto asked her, he got his reply in the form of a nod into his chest. Naruto rubbed the back of her head gently as he continued to sit leaning against the tree.

"Thank you." Naruto said gratefully. It was incredible how at ease he felt while holding his future wife. It was as if a little peace of his previous life had been returned to him.

"For what?" Hinata said into his chest tickling Naruto from the vibration of her voice.

"For worrying about me."

Hinata removed her head from Naruto's chest and looked up at the blond boy that had just kissed her for the second time. "Promise me you won't go away."

"What?" Naruto replied in a confused manner.

"I heard that you fought the guys that killed Asuma sensei if you promise not to go away I promise that I'll train hard, real hard until I'm strong enough to fight along side you. So until then… promise me you won't go away."

Naruto brushed the hair that had fallen onto her face away gently. "Don't worry Hinata-chan I'm strong it'll take a lot more than the likes of those two too take me down." Naruto said putting on a tough act for the girl sitting in his lap. The truth was that Naruto was vulnerable as he was now but there was no reason for her to worry about that.

Naruto had found something. A beacon of light in this foreign world that seemed empty and he wasn't about to let anyone or anything take that away from him.

Hinata wrapped her own arms around Naruto and laid her head against his chest. "Do you promise?" She said tightening her hold on him as if to keep him from leaving.

Naruto placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her head up to face him "I give you my word." He said while looking into her eyes.

Hinata then quickly leaned forward and pecked Naruto on the lips. Much to his surprise. She then relaxed laying down on his body as he held her. Naruto ran his hand threw her hair and the two fell asleep together like this. Naruto sitting with his back against a tree with Hinata sitting on his lap with her body resting against his with her head on his chest.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7 done sorry for the wait and the relatively short Chapter. We get some fluff and some NaruHina moments. <strong>

**We return to action and things going down next chapter so look forward to it. Please? **

**Thank you to everyone whose been following my story so far please leave a review and tell me what you think of this chapter or this story so far. Feedback motivates me to continue writing. I'll try to have Chapter 8 up either later tonight or tomorrow at the latest. Until then See Ya! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Bold text in the chapter is Kurama's dialogue.

* * *

><p>Chapter: 8<p>

After waking up Naruto and Hinata rejoined Shikamaru and Ino and proceeded to head towards Suna.

"How long will it take to get to Suna from here?" Ino asked

"If we continue at this pace we should reach Suna by nightfall" Naruto answered.

"Is that ok?" Hinata questioned.

"Arriving at night would be to our advantage." Shikamaru chimed in. "So Naruto, What's the plan?"

"Don't really have one." Naruto said curtly, Shikamaru almost face faulted after hearing what Naruto said.

"What do you mean you don't have a plan? Are we just supposed to blitz the place guns blazing?"

"As fun as that sounds no I don't think we'd be able to pull that off." Naruto then opened his hand and said "Gogyō Fūin (Five Elements Seal)" 5 blue flames appeared on each of Naruto's fingertips.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow when he saw this but before he could comment on it Ino chimed in "What's that?"

"This is a Five Elements Seal it's used to stop or disturb chakra flow." Naruto stated getting blank looks from his fellow genin. Naruto let out a sigh "Basically if I hit Gaara with this he'll pass out and it'll disrupt his access to his Chakra."

In reality Naruto was using this seal to cut Gaara off from Shukaku. He decided to withhold that part since none of them needed to know about the Biju… at least not yet.

"So other than that seal we don't have any plan of action?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto looked at the pineapple haired genin "Just follow my lead. Everything else will work itself out… Probably."

XxX

(Outside of Suna Nighttime)

Naruto and the others arrived outside of Suna and waited for the sun to set before making their move.

"What now?" Ino asked.

Naruto stood up "Alright it's show time." He looked over at Hinata "Hinata use your Byakugan to check how many people are keeping guard."

Hinata nodded and did as asked "Byakugan" She examined the large entrance to Sunagakure. The entrance was a large stepped wall with a split in the middle.

"There are 10 guards on the wall and 4 on the ground in the opening."

"Perfect" Naruto replied. "Alright the timing is going to be crucial. I'm going to create a distraction to draw out the guards on the ground when I do Shikamaru I want you to capture then with your Kagemane no Jutsu." Shikamaru nodded in understanding.

Naruto then looked over at Ino "Once Shikamaru gets them caught in his jutsu I want you to use your clans jutsu to switch bodies with one of them. When the four on the ground leave to check out my distraction the ones on top will get antsy your job is to assure them that everything's ok."

Like Shikamaru Ino also nodded in understanding. "Once that's done I'll knock out the four guards on the ground and we'll all henge into them."

"You think that'll work?" Ino asked nervously.

"We could always just storm the place like Shikamaru suggested earlier."

Ino looked at Naruto with a deadpan expression after hearing his suggestion.

"Man this is going to be really troublesome isn't it?" Shikamaru asked.

"I think it'll work out Shikamaru." Hinata added in a nervous voice.

"Your tone doesn't exactly inspire confidence Hinata." Shikamaru replied.

"Well anyway let begin." With that Naruto initiated his jutsu "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (shadow clone jutsu)" Four clones popped into existence. They all ran out and charged towards the Suna guards.

When the clones reached the split in the two giant walls guarding Suna they all yelled out to attract the attention of the guards. The four guards ran out to see what the noise was. This was Shikamaru's cue to initiate his jutsu "Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique)"

Shikamaru's shadow stretched out and latched onto the shadow of the four Suna guards freezing them in place giving Ino time to use her jutsu.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique)" With that Ino took control of one of the Suna guards.

Shikamaru released the guard she was controlling from his jutsu allowing her to move. "Good Ino" Naruto said, "Now jump up the wall and check in with the others. If they ask about the disturbance tell them that it was all taken care of. Ino did as asked and scaled the wall to go check in with the other guards.

Naruto then had his four clones attack the remaining three guards at the same time knocking them all unconscious. He did the same with the guard Ino was controlling after she switched back into her own body.

Naruto then had his four clones Henge themselves into the four Suna guards to take their place. Ino, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Naruto did the same. Naruto lead the group through the wall split into the village. Naruto's clones followed suit shortly after to make sure no one up top was aware of what they were doing. Once inside the village Naruto and his three fellow genin hid behind a large building and released their Henges.

"Alright we've made it this far, now what?" Shikamaru asked.

"Now we find Gaara." Naruto answered.

"How do we do that?"

"Leave it to me." 'Kurama I need your help can you sense where Shukaku is?'

"**Che… the bastards so weak his presence barely registers**"

'Yeah, Yeah you have nine tails so your more awesome. Now come on just point me in his direction. If it makes you feel any better I'm going to seal him away… at least for the time being anyway.'

"**He's half a mile west of here.**"

'Thanks Partner.'

"**Che…**"

Naruto turned to the three genin that were waiting on him "I found him he's half a mile from us lets go."

Naruto hopped along the rooftops with his fellow three genin in toe. When Naruto spotted Gaara he stuck out his arm gesturing for everyone to stop. They landed on a building that was adjacent to the one Gaara was standing on. They were higher up than he was.

Naruto walked to the edge of the building they were standing on and yelled out "Gaara of the Sand!"

Gaara had his back turned to Naruto "Who goes there." He said in an agitated voice without turning around.

"My name is Naruto… Uzumaki, Naruto."

"Uzumaki…" Gaara started "Have you come to end my existence?" He asked in a crazed fashion as sand started to swirl around him. His back was still turned to Naruto.

Naruto turned to face his team "You guys stay back." He then looked at Gaara "Let me handle this."

With that Naruto hopped down from where he was standing and landed on the same roof that Gaara was standing on.

"I don't want to hurt you Gaara… frankly I just want to talk but I will fight you if you give me no choice."

"Talk" Gaara said incredulously "What is there to talk about with someone like you… Someone who is trying to extinguish all that I am."

"Then you leave me no choice." Naruto said as he got into a Frog Kata stance.

"I will kill you and give your blood to mother. When I end your life I will once again prove my own." Gaara then turned around to glare at Naruto with a maniacal expression "A battle is a gamble where one pits his own existence against another's where only the victor get to savor the value of his own. Now come Uzumaki help me prove my worth."

As he finished talking sand rushed out at Naruto from Gaara's gourd. Naruto jumped back to avoid the sand when more came after him while he was in midair.

"Damn it" He said before he formed his patented hand seal "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (shadow clone jutsu)" A clone of Naruto popped into existence in mid air. It grabbed Naruto and threw him out of the way of Gaara's attack.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (shadow clone jutsu)" Naruto yelled out again this time creating 10 copies of himself.

"Interesting Uzumaki… when I crush this power of yours I will feel more alive than ever before." Gaara yelled out.

Naruto's clones all brandished Kunai and charged at Gaara only to be dispelled by his sand.

'This is going to be tough' Naruto thought to himself. He was still wearing the weights that he'd bought from Ten Ten's shop so he was moving slower than he normally would. Not that his normal speed would make a difference in this situation. He still wouldn't be fast enough to get around Gaara's ultimate defense.

'But I don't need to be' Naruto thought to himself. He could use the extra weight as added momentum to give his attacks more kick.

Naruto once again initiated his jutsu "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (shadow clone jutsu)" and with that 6 clones of Naruto appeared along side of him. The clones formed a V formation with Naruto in the back.

The two clones on the ends charged forward and attacked Gaara first only to have their attacks stopped by Gaara's sand. The remaining four ran in line and all charged at Gaara with their Kunai in hand.

They were all stopped as well but Naruto used this opportunity. He used the back of one of his clones to propel himself high into the air. Naruto then took a Kunai into his right hand and tried adding Wind Chakra to it. His Kunai weren't Chakra blades so the results wouldn't be Ideal but it was worth a shot.

Naruto then threw the Kunai that he'd just finished charging with wind Chakra at Gaara. A small amount of sand came to block the Kunai. Normally it would have been enough to stop it but not this time. Not when Naruto had added wind Chakra to it.

The Kunai made contact with the sand and pierced a hole right threw it. The Kunai headed straight for Gaara the sand didn't even manage to slow it down. It pierced him in his right shoulder.

Gaara grabbed the area where he had been stabbed as blood dripped down from his wound. "My blood… you spilled my Bloooood!"

Gaara yelled out as sand whipped at Naruto knocking him out of the air and dispelling his remaining clones.

"This is bad" Naruto said to himself. "I need to end this before Gaara tries to transform. We can't afford to make a bigger scene than we already have."

All of Gaara's sand rushed back to him encasing him "Don't worry mother I promise I will get you his blood. I've always been a good boy I won't let you down." Gaara said in a crazed fashion as he rocked back and forth.

"I need to hurry and end this before he falls under Shukaku's influence." Naruto said as he jumped to higher ground ready to charge at Gaara.

A blue sphere of swirling Chakra appeared in Naruto's right hand "This ends now!" Naruto yelled out. He ran down and charged at Gaara at full speed. Gaara had now encased himself in his protective ball of sand.

Naruto continued to run until Gaara was in range for his attack he then thrust his right hand out at Gaara's sand ball "Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere)"

The jutsu made contact with Gaara's sand and pierced right through it. It then made contact with Gaara's body. The instant that it did Gaara's body exploded out of the sand ball. He was sent flying back off of the roof by Naruto's attack.

"This is my chance" Naruto said as he jumped off of the roof and after Gaara. Gaara's sand followed closely behind but Naruto had it beat.

Gaara's body hit the ground and bounced back up in the air. At this point Naruto was only a few feet away, his weights gave him a lot of added momentum when he fell.

Five blue flames appeared on each of Naruto's fingertips. Naruto then thrust his hand out at Gaara's stomach "Gogyō Fūin (Five Elements Seal)" He yelled out as his hand made contact pinning Gaara to the floor. The sand jinchuuriki coughed up blood when Naruto made contact. He lost consciousness shortly thereafter.

Gaara's body went limp, as did the sand that was charging down towards him. The sand just fell from the air and landed in a disorganized pile.

Naruto sat back next to the now unconscious Gaara as his teammates jumped down to join him.

Ino was the first to speak "Naruto what was that jutsu that you used."

Naruto raised an eyebrow "The Rasengan? It's a trick I picked up a while ago." He said while sending Hinata a wink. This was her first time seeing what the Jutsu she was learning could do in battle.

Naruto smiled as he got up, he walked over to the downed Gaara and was about to pick him up when he sensed something… something off.

He turned around "Hinata quickly activate you Byakugan!" He ordered.

Hinata was confused but promptly did as asked. Her white eyes widened at what she saw.

"There's dozens of Shinobi heading this way!" Hinata said getting gasps out of Shikamaru and Ino.

"Damn it" Naruto said under his breath 'I have to use that jutsu'

"**Don't even think about it brat!**" Kurama yelled out interrupting Naruto's thoughts. "**If you try to teleport this many people that great a distance you'd destroy your body from the inside out, and that's assuming you all made it there in one piece.**"

Naruto let out a sigh before turning and looking back at the three genin standing behind him. They all were visibly shaken. The fact that they didn't look terrified spoke volumes about their ability as Ninja.

Naruto picked up Gaara and removed his sand gourd he then tossed him to Shikamaru surprising the Pineapple haired genin. "Go" Naruto said calmly.

"What do you mean go?" Ino asked in disbelief "What about you?" She exclaimed.

Naruto's expression hardened causing Ino's breath to hitch "I said go." Naruto repeated in a commanding voice. He then turned around to face the direction that the enemy was coming from.

Hinata stepped up towards Naruto "Naruto-kun I'll-"

"No you won't!" Naruto yelled back cutting her off "None of you will."

"Shikamaru" Naruto said getting the attention of his future right hand man "Get everyone out of here, I'll hold them off."

Shikamaru's perpetually lazy expression faltered for a moment before returning once he fully comprehended their current situation.

"I got it." Shikamaru said flatly. He turned to move out before stopping and looking back "Naruto."

"What is it?" The future Nanadaime Hokage replied.

"Make sure you get out of here in one piece we'll be waiting for you."

"You bet." Naruto replied, "Now go."

They did as told and moved out leaving Naruto there looking death in the face.

"Well I sure got myself into a hell of a situation now didn't I." Naruto said to himself. He hit the release on all of his weights freeing himself up if only a little.

He then formed his patented hand seal "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (shadow clone jutsu)!" He yelled out. In an instant 1000 Naruto clones popped into existence.

Naruto looked over all of his clones and then straight ahead at their fast approaching enemy. "Give 'em hell guys!" Naruto yelled out. His clones let out a battle cry in response.

All 1000 clones charged at the dozens of Suna Shinobi that were approaching. The area had become a bloody battlefield.

All of the Suna Ninja were at least Chunin in rank they also had quite a few Jōnin among them. The situation didn't look too good for Naruto. His clones were being systematically dismantled. But that didn't necessarily matter, he didn't need to win the fight he just had to hold the Suna Ninja back long enough to give everyone on his team enough time to escape.

Naruto was standing all the way in the back behind his hoard of clones. He used up almost all of his chakra to create them and he couldn't risk them all being dispelled because he took damage.

In that instant someone cut a line through all of Naruto's clones and appeared right in front of the original. 'He must be a Jōnin' Naruto thought to himself. He formed a Rasengan in his right hand and thrust it at the man standing before him. In response to Naruto's attack the man grabbed Naruto's wrist and shot off a powerful kick into Naruto's stomach sending him flying back into a large building.

In that instant all of Naruto's clones dispelled due to the damage that the original took. The Ninja that had kicked Naruto yelled out "Go after them they've taken Shukaku. We need to get him back whatever the cost."

"No!" Naruto yelled blood flying out of his mouth from the injuries he had sustained. Naruto pulled himself to his feet and walked out of the building he had been kicked into. "I won't let you hurt my comrades."

He then ran towards the Suna Jōnin and formed a single Kage Bunshin. Both Naruto and his clone formed a Rasengan and thrust it at the large man. He simply jumped up and landed on their arms and in one fluid motion he shot out a crushing kick at both Naruto's and his clone's head.

Naruto was sent flying back 20 feet and his clone was instantly dispelled. The Jōnin that had kicked him slowly made his way over to where Naruto had landed, presumably to finish him off. Naruto could no longer move no matter how hard he tried.

"Is this it? Is this as far as I'm going to go this time around? I'm going to die at the hands of a Suna Shinobi."

"**What're you going on about brat it isn't over. Or have you forgotten that I'm here.**"

"Kurama?" Naruto said in a daze "Even with your power it won't be enough. With the seal the way that it is you can only give me three tails worth of Chakra. That won't be enough to beat all of these guys besides I can barely move after the injuries I just suffered."

"**I'm not suggesting that I give you Chakra through the seal. I'm suggesting that you remove the seal entirely.**"

"Remove the seal! But if I did that you'd-"

"**Be free. Yes I would be**"

Naruto thought for a moment before speaking again "Ok Kurama I'm putting my trust in you."

XxX

(Naruto's Mindscape)

Naruto walked up to Kurama's cage, once there a swirl of water wrapped around him and lifted him up to reach the seal. Naruto pealed it off half way when a hand suddenly appeared and grabbed Naruto's arm. Naruto looked up to see his dad standing before him.

"**Yondaime**" Kurama growled out rather calmly in comparison to what Naruto remembered him doing the first time.

With the snap of his fingers Naruto's father changed the location from the dark sewer to the peaceful location that he'd taken Naruto to the first time around.

"Dad" Naruto said in a weak voice.

The Yondaime Hokage looked down at Naruto with an appraising eye before he ruffled Naruto's hair.

"You've become strong Naruto."

Naruto was confused "Wait you're not going to yell at me or lecture me about why releasing the Kyuubi would be a bad idea."

Naruto's father shook his head "I've been watching you Naruto and I've seen what you've been up to."

"All of it?" Naruto asked while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Most of it." The Yondaime Hokage replied. "You seemed to have miraculously picked up quite a few of my moves. Although I'm sure that there's a good explanation for that. You also seemed to have quite a bit of knowledge regarding your seal as well as about why I sealed the Kyuubi within you." The 4th finished.

"Well there is an explanation but I don't know if I'd go as far as calling it a good one."

The 4th looked at Naruto intently actually getting him to blush under his gaze "You've grown up well Naruto."

Naruto once again rubbed the back of his head.

The 4th's expression then turned serious "Naruto… If you release the Kyuubi there's a good chance that you'll die in the process. Though you knew that already didn't you."

Naruto nodded in the affirmative. "I'm prepared to die if that's what it takes to protect my comrades."

Naruto's father smiled in response. He then handed Naruto a piece of paper.

"What's this?" Naruto asked.

"It's the physical representation of the seal, it contains your mothers Chakra. Hold onto it you'll be able to use it to speak with her in the same way that your talking to me when you feel that the time is right."

Naruto clutched the peace of paper tightly "Thank you… dad." He said as he looked up at his father who was now starting to fade away.

Before he did he said one last thing "Naruto when you talk to your mom don't forget to introduce her to that girlfriend of yours." He said while chuckling. Naruto's face turned red in response.

"Bye dad." With that his father disappeared and Naruto was right back where he was before with his hand on the seal that was already half removed. Naruto removed the rest of the seal without any hesitation.

In that instant time seemed to stop.

XxX

(Real world with Naruto)

A powerful ominous presence filled the air causing every Shinobi in the area to freeze. A mindboggling amount of red Chakra flew out of Naruto's body and into the air where it took the form of a giant nine tailed fox.

Kurama's waved his tails around with enough force to create a sand storm. He then looked down at the ground to see Naruto laying there, his life draining from his body.

"_Kurama… Do you have something that you want to protect?_" The words that Naruto had said to him rang through his mind. Kurama dug his claws into the ground and looked out at the Suna Shinobi that were standing before him.

He cocked his head back as a giant purple sphere of heavily compressed Chakra formed from his mouth. '**Your not dying here boy. You've yet to help me get revenge on that bastard Madara.**'

With that Kurama prepared to eradicate any who dared to cross his path.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8 done! I had fun writing this one. Thank you to everyone who has been reading my story so far you're all awesome!<strong>

**Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter or of the story so far. Until Chapter 9 See Ya!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Bold text in the chapter is Kurama's dialogue.

* * *

><p>Chapter: 9<p>

"_Kurama… Do you have something that you want to protect?_" The words that Naruto had said to him rang through his mind. Kurama dug his claws into the ground and looked out at the Suna Shinobi that were standing before him.

He cocked his head back as a giant purple sphere of heavily compressed Chakra formed from his mouth. '**Your not dying here boy. You've yet to help me get revenge on that bastard Madara.**'

"What the hell is that thing!?" A Suna Shinobi cried out. "Somebody call Kazeka-"

That's as far as he got before Kurama released the Bijūdama out towards their direction. His attack ripped through the village destroying everything in its path before making contact with Suna's outer wall. When it hit the outer wall the attack exploded out creating a massive crater and completely destroying the village's entrance.

XxX

(5 minutes earlier with Shikamaru and the others)

The three genin had made their escape from the village as Naruto ordered. They were just outside the village walls when suddenly they felt the oppressing force of nature that was the Kyuubi no Yōko.

A surge of ominous Chakra greater than they could even comprehend descended all around them. All three of the genin had the wind knocked out of them by this.

"What the hell is that!?" Ino yelled when she turned around and saw Kurama's giant form in the center of the village.

Shikamaru and Hinata gasped when they turned around to see what was emanating this crushing presence.

"I don't know but we need to get out of here." Shikamaru replied to Ino before turning around "Let's go!"

Ino turned around to follow but Hinata didn't do the same. "Naruto-kun" She said in a panic before she turned and ran back towards the village.

"Hinata wait!" Shikamaru yelled but he couldn't catch her, he was still carrying Gaara.

XxX

(Back in the Village)

Kurama let out a massive roar after his attack had cut through Naruto's attackers and it took 1/3 of the village with it. '**This is nothing like Konoha**' Kurama thought to himself.

When he was forced to attack Konoha all of their ninja's fought back regardless of how strong they were but here… Everyone seemed to lay down and die at the sight of him. '**Che… Cowards.**'

Just as he finished his thought he saw someone burst from the smoke and run in his direction. '**That's-**'

XxX

(With Hinata)

Hinata ran back into the village in search of Naruto. Once inside Hinata activated her Byakugan to try to find the Blond genin. She panned her eyes around the area where they had left Naruto. She was praying that he hadn't somehow been caught in the previous explosion that took out a huge chunk of the village.

She pointed her Byakugan at the Kyuubi and was nearly blinded by the obscene amount of Chakra it was emanating. It was then that she saw a horrifying sight. Naruto was there lying on the ground next to the monster. He wasn't moving and he had no Chakra circulating in his system. "Naruto-kun!" She yelled out as she ran full speed in his direction.

XxX

(With Kurama)

'**That's-'**

'_Kurama I think I've found what it is that I want to protect._'

'**The girl from back then.**'

Hinata ran up to Naruto who was laying on the ground next to Kurama's feet and dove down to him. "Naruto-kun!" She yelled as she held him up. He was cold and his face had started to lose its color. "No! Naruto-kun you can't die. Not here not like this. Your dream was to become Hokage you can't-" She was cut off by her own tears,

Tears started streaming down her face "I've always, always dreamed of standing by your side. I know that may have been a selfish thing to wish for but it was my dream. You promised me that you wouldn't leave. Naruto-kun…" Hinata said through sobs. "Naruto-kun… Naruto-kun… please don't leave."

Kurama raised his hand and lowered it to where Hinata was holding Naruto. With one of his fingers he knocked Hinata off of him. "What are you doing to Naru-" She was cut off by a low growl that Kurama released.

Kurama lowered one of his claws down and touched it down on Naruto's chest. '**Damn it, I can't connect my Chakra with his.**'

"_I may not be strong enough to fight along side you the way I am now but I promise that someday I will be. Wait for me Kurama I meant what I said to you when we first spoke. I will stop all those that have wronged you as well as all the other Biju._"

Kurama remembered the promise that Naruto made to him.

'_I won't be here much longer. Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Gokuu, Kokuou, Saiken, Choumei, Gyuuki, Kurama… You will always be together, even if you are separated. One day, you will all become one… With different names… In different forms than you exist now. And unlike when you were within me, you will be led down the right path. When the time comes… For you to know what true power is… _'

'**Old man… I said before that I thought Naruto was the one you once spoke of and I still believe that to be true. I think I finally understand what you meant… I now understand what true power is.**'

With that Kurama's Chakra spiked it was practically exploding out of his body. "**Your not dying here brat!**"

The entire world seemed to flash a bright white right before Hinata's eyes.

XxX

(Naruto's Mind)

Naruto was walking home after a busy day at work excited to see his family. For some reason he felt like he hadn't seen them in a long time. Naruto walked up to his house overlooking the Hokage monument and stepped in.

"I'm home." He said in a happy voice but no one was there.

"Hinata-chan?" No answer

He walked further inside and looked around "Boruto? Himawari?" Still nothing.

"Where is everybody?" Naruto asked to no one in particular. A chill shot through the room. "So cold… I feel so cold." The light in the room started to fade away.

"I feel so cold… So cold and so alone." A rush of fatigue hit Naruto causing his eyes to start drooping.

"So tired… maybe if I go to sleep they'll be here when I wake up." Naruto said as he started to lose consciousness.

Suddenly a bright blinding light appeared in the distance waking Naruto from his reprieve. "Whose there?" He said in the direction of the light.

"It's so bright." The world around him that seemed to grow darker by the second was disappearing being replaced by what he saw in front of him. "It's so warm." Naruto said as he got up and walked towards the source of the light that was brightening the world around him.

When he got close to it the world around him disappeared he was now in a completely white dimension. Everything around him was infinitely white. The only two things present were Naruto and a normal sized fox with 9 tails.

Naruto walked forward and stretched his hand out "Kurama?" He said in an unsure manner.

"**So you're still alive and kicking huh brat? I leave you for 5 minutes and you start dying on me.**"

"Leave you? What are you talking about?" The memories then hit Naruto.

"I released you…" He then looked down at the small version of Kurama "How are you here? And for that matter where are we in the first place."

"**This is the deepest area of your mind and it's the last place you go before you die. Everything you were fades away into the nothingness you see here before you move on to the next life.**"

"Why am I here?"

"**Because you were on the verge of death. For all I know you may have even died**."

"What about you? Why do you look like that? You're so much smaller than normal."

The small Kurama looked at Naruto with a serious expression "**This is all that remains of me.**"

"What do you mean? What happened to the rest of you?" Naruto hadn't noticed it till now but Kurama's Chakra was almost nonexistent he seemed to have almost none left.

"**I fused my essence with yours.**"

Naruto placed his hand on his stomach "You managed to re seal yourself within me?

Kurama shook his head "**Fused not sealed boy. When you were on the verge of death your Chakra stopped circulating. There was nothing for me to latch onto to, to transfer my own to yours.**"

"What are you saying Kurama?"

"**…**"

"Kurama!"

"**This is it for me boy.**"

"What do you mean 'this is it' your Kurama the Kyuubi the most powerful Biju. If your Chakra is running low just rest up it'll regenerate."

"**It's not just Chakra I gave to you… Who I was, that being is gone forever. I'm now a permanent part of you. What you see here standing before you is what little remains of myself this too will soon fade away.**"

Tears ran down Naruto's face as he realized what Kurama was telling him. "Why? Why did you give up your life for mine? You hate humans. You haven't even gotten your revenge on Madara yet you can't just disappear not like this…"

"**Che… don't make me regret it already boy. As for Madara I'll leave that bastard to you… Partner.**"

Naruto wiped his face and looked up at Kurama with a weak smile "So what changes now?"

"**Everything that I was is now a permanent part of your body. My Chakra, my abilities, my memories they're all a part of you now. How you use them will be ultimately up to you just know this Chakra is a combination of your spiritual and physical energies. You have my spiritual energy but physically you're not nearly developed enough. This will act as a severe bottleneck.**"

"**Think of it as a child that grows up to be an adult. As they grow their Chakra reserves also naturally grow. You have the potential to posses as much Chakra as I did if not more but until that potential is realized your limited to what you currently have which as it is has already undergone a massive increase in comparison to your base level before."**

Naruto looked at his hands and then back at Kurama "What's the downside?"

"**I'll no longer be able to pour my own chakra into your body. So if the situation gets hairy you can't rely on me to take you beyond your limits. What you have is all you have.**"

"Am I still human?" Naruto asked seriously wondering.

"**More or less.**"

"What do you mean 'more or less'?"

"**You'll see when you experience it.**" With that Kurama started fading away.

"Kurama!" Naruto yelled out.

"**What is it?**"

"Thank you."

"**For what?**"

"You've always been there… Even when I didn't want you inside of me you were there with me experiencing everything, seeing everything, feeling everything. You've saved my ass so many times that I've lost count. I don't know if I ever told you this but I'm glad that my parents sealed you inside of me. And I'm proud… Proud to call you my partner Kurama!"

"**Che… How soft I've grown." **Kurama said while looking at Naruto.** "Do it Naruto. Accomplish the things that you've set out to do… Change the world… The same way that you changed me.**" Kurama said as he finished fading away there was still one thing he had to do.

"I swear Kurama." Naruto said while clutching his chest "I swear I'll do it and I never go back on my word."

XxX

(Outside World)

When the blinding light faded the giant 9 tailed being was gone. Hinata quickly crawled over to Naruto from where they had been tossed.

When she got next to Naruto he sat up. "Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed.

Naruto turned to look at her only his eyes were no longer blue they were now glowing a fiery golden orange a color similar to Naruto's Biju mode cloak.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata said surprised by his appearance.

"**Take care of him**"

She heard a deep voice say. Naruto body then went limp and fell back down. Hinata caught him before he hit the ground. "Naruto-kun" she said but she received no answer. The color had returned to Naruto's face and he was warm once again. In that instant Ino and Shikamaru landed next to Hinata.

"What happened here!?" Ino yelled out in response to a third of the village being flattened. "Where did that giant monster go?"

Hinata didn't answer Ino's questions.

"Hinata!" Ino yelled before Shikamaru put a hand on her shoulder "It doesn't matter. For now lets just worry about getting out of here." Shikamaru said stopping Ino from asking any more questions. He had a vague idea of what was going on but decided to save his own questions for later.

"Let's go. Now that, that monster is gone the Suna Shinobi will probably come back." Shikamaru said turning to leave the village. The entrance to the village had been completely blown open so escaping should be relatively simple.

Hinata lifted the unconscious Naruto onto her back. Shikamaru turned towards her "Do you need help carrying him?"

Hinata shook her head in the negative "I've got him." Carrying Naruto wasn't too difficult for Hinata even though she was small Naruto wasn't that much bigger than herself. With that they all ran towards the exit to make their way out of the village.

XxX

(With the Kazekage)

The Kazekage emerged from his office after sensing the horrible presence that had descended upon his village. When he got outside he was shocked by what he saw. A third of his village was gone flattened before he could even make it outside. "Who did this he yelled!"

One of the Suna Shinobi ran up to him in a panic "It was a demon" he said "A demon fox with nine tails."

"A demon fox with nine tails?" The Kazekage said to himself "The Kyuubi? The monster that attacked Konoha over a decade ago? I was I was under the impression that the 4th Hokage took that monster to the grave with him."

Another Suna Shinobi landed next to the Kazekage. "It was a group of four children" he said.

"What!?" Was the Kazekage's intelligent reply.

"Three of them took Shukaku and ran away while the other stayed behind. He had the ability to create 1000 solid clones."

This got a gasp out of the Kazekage.

"We defeated his clones and cornered him but when we did the boy released that monster from inside of him." The Suna ninja shuddered at the memory. "I've never felt something so horrible the Shukaku doesn't even compare with that monster."

The Kazekage started sweating in response to what he was hearing. 'Did the Leaf find out about my partnership with Otogakure?' He thought to himself. Konoha was the strongest village in the elemental nations a declaration of war from them would most certainly spell doom for his village.

"Get me the Otokage!" The Kazekage yelled out. 'He assured me that our plan would remain a secret.' The Suna ninja to his left ran off to relay the Kazekage's message.

XxX

(Hours later)

Shikamaru led the group out of the village and towards the direction of Konoha. He didn't know where Naruto intended to take them after the mission and as the situation was now Naruto was indisposed and he didn't look like he would wake any time soon.

So Shikamaru being the one that Naruto appointed to be leader in his absence decided the best course of action would be to head in the direction of Konoha. No one from Suna would be dumb enough to follow them into potentially hostile territory. Or so he hoped Shikamaru wasn't an idiot he knew that what they were doing wasn't exactly on the up and up. They were on their own and the way they were now things weren't looking too good.

They stopped and made camp for the night. Having to lug around two unconscious people really took a lot out of them. It slowed their pace as well. Gaara was still unconscious from what Naruto had done to him. Something that Shikamaru was eternally grateful for. Although he knew that it wouldn't last forever.

"Ino" He said calling for his blonde teammate.

"What is it?" She replied

"Do you have any spare bandages on you like the ones you wear under your clothes."

Ino nodded in response "I do, why?"

"Let me borrow some."

Ino was hesitant due to the lack of an explanation but gave in and did as asked.

"Here you go." She said handing Shikamaru a roll of bandages that she always carried on her person.

Shikamaru took them and then moved over towards Gaara. He then proceeded to tie Gaara's hand behind he back.

"What are you doing?" Ino asked.

"What does it look like?" Shikamaru replied, "I'm tying him up. You saw how he reacted when we first found him. I'm not naïve enough to believe that this seal Naruto put on him will last forever. I'm trying to make sure he doesn't kill us if and when he wakes up."

Ino looked at Gaara with an appraising eye. "You know he actually looks kinda cute when he's sleeping."

Shikamaru looked at her with a deadpan expression. "Yeah I totally see where you're coming from." He said sarcastically "When he's not trying to crush you with his sand and feed on your blood he's a stand up guy."

"Oh come on Shikamaru no need to be jealous I was just saying."

Shikamaru just stared at her expressionlessly "Troublesome…"

XxX

(With Hinata)

Hinata put Naruto down in one of their makeshift tents. Naruto was burning up. She first noticed it when she felt him constantly fidgeting while she was carrying him but now that he was laying down she could clearly see the pain on his face.

He seemed to be enduring quite a lot. Hinata wasn't exactly sure about what had happened to Naruto. He ordered them to leave the village while he stayed back and held off their pursuers. Five minutes later a giant monster appeared out of nowhere and when she ran back towards Naruto the same giant monster disappeared just as quick.

There was definitely something different about Naruto. Ever since she heard that deep voice from his body tell her to take care of him she saw the changes that his body was undergoing.

When she found Naruto laying on the ground his Chakra had stopped circulating. However after the giant fox disappeared that was no longer the case. Naruto's Chakra began circulating again but that wasn't all his Chakra network itself seemed to have undergone an enormous transformation.

'It's so complex.' Hinata thought to herself as she looked down at Naruto with her Byakugan activated. His Chakra network was infinitely more complex than any she had seen before it was simply inhuman. The shear amount of Chakra pathways were breathtaking more than she could ever hope to count.

In fact his Chakra network still wasn't done transforming. It was still changing before her very eyes. Hinata didn't know what to make of it. Everyone's Chakra network looked relatively similar at the very least regardless of how strong they were or weren't so to see this inside Naruto was disconcerting.

Naruto then let out a grunt of pain, which woke Hinata from her thoughts. 'It doesn't matter how it happened at least Naruto-kun is still alive' Hinata thought to herself. She then grabbed one of her spare shirts and wet it with some of the drinking water they had on them.

She then placed the shirt on Naruto's forehead trying to cool him down. This seemed to calm him momentarily but the pain soon returned as was evident by the look on his face. Hinata reached down and grabbed Naruto's hand and clutched it tightly.

Shikamaru and Ino walked in just as she did so. "How is he?" Shikamaru asked having finished tying up Gaara.

Hinata shook her head in response.

Ino then sat down next to her "I'm sure he'll be ok. I mean look at his track record so far." Ino said trying to cheer Hinata up. Hinata smiled in response, she appreciated Ino's attempt.

"So what do we do now?" Hinata asked Shikamaru.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head "We'll keep traveling back towards Konoha and hope that Naruto wakes up sooner rather than later."

Ino stared at him "That's it!" She said incredulously.

Shikamaru stared back at her "Pretty much. Naruto didn't tell us his plan although I don't think that was intentional he seemed to just be winging it himself. Until he wakes up this is our best course of action. The person we took is obviously important. Since Suna sent out Dozens of Ninja to stop us from taking him. Our number one priority is to avoid conflict with them."

Ino let out a sigh and nodded in understanding.

XxX

(Akatsuki Hideout Location Unknown)

10 individuals stood atop the fingers of two giant hands. They were all just visual representations of the originals none of them were actually there.

Hidan was the first of them to speak "Why the hell are we!"

Pain interjected "Silence!"

"F**K you, you blasphemous bastard Its bad enough that we can't kill our targets outright and now you take away from my prayer time for this." Let it be known to the world the Hidan was not afraid of their leader. Although that probably spoke more towards his stupidity rather than his ability.

Sasori then decided to speak up tired of this pointless back and forth. "I'm the one that called for this meeting." He proclaimed.

Pain looked over to him "Go on." He said flatly.

"One of my spies from Suna alerted me to something interesting." He then looked around the room.

"And?" One of the other members said his patience wearing thin.

"Earlier today the Kyuubi attacked Sunagakure."

"What?" Was the resounding response around the room.

Sasori continued, "Apparently four children from the Leaf broke into Suna to capture their Jinchuuriki. One of the brats released the Kyuubi so they could escape."

"Where are they now?" Pain asked.

"The last my spy saw they were heading in the direction of Konohagakure. Presumably heading back to their village."

"Two Jinchuuriki in one location" Kakuzu commented.

"How fast can you get there?" Pain asked.

"Deidara and I are about a day out."

"Go." Pain ordered "Bring the two back here. We have to seal the Kyuubi last to avoid overloading the Gedō Mazō but this opportunity is too great to pass up."

Sasori nodded and with that him and Deidara disappeared from the hideout.

XxX

(With Sasori and Deidara)

"Lead the way-hm" Deidara said to Sasori as he stood up. "I'll use this battle to show you what true art is capable of. True art comes and goes… in a flash-un"

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9 done! This one took me a while to get up. I've had family visiting holidays and all that jazz you know how it goes. Next chapter should be up sooner. Thank you to everyone that reads and reviews, followsfavorites my story. Leave me a review and tell me what you think of this chapter or the story as a whole so far. Until Chapter 10 See Ya and Happy Holidays!**


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